TY - JOUR T1 - Parenteral nutrition compared with transpyloric feeding. JF - Archives of Disease in Childhood JO - Arch Dis Child SP - 131 LP - 135 DO - 10.1136/adc.59.2.131 VL - 59 IS - 2 AU - E J Glass AU - R Hume AU - M A Lang AU - J O Forfar Y1 - 1984/02/01 UR - http://adc.bmj.com/content/59/2/131.abstract N2 - Fifty nine infants of birthweight less than 1500 g were allocated alternately to initial total parenteral nutrition or to transpyloric feeding. Mortality was similar between the two groups. Ten of the 29 infants in the transpyloric group failed to establish full enteral nutrition during the first week of life. No beneficial effects on growth were shown in infants receiving parenteral nutrition. Acquired bacterial infection was higher in the parenteral group and associated with morbidity and mortality. Conjugated hyperbilirubinaemia occurred only in the parenterally fed infants. The incidence of necrotising enterocolitis was higher in the transpyloric group. Parenteral nutrition does not confer any appreciable benefit and because of greater complexity and higher risk of complications should be reserved for those infants in whom enteral feeding is impossible. ER -