Protocol-driven Nutrition in Preterm Infants

Summary

The project is a national, prospective, multicenter, interventional pilot project focused on protocol-driven nutrition in preterm infants in the Czech republic.

The primary aim of the project is to prepare, test, and develop a proposal for a national methodology for the care of preterm newborns in the field of nutrition. This will reduce health risks in premature infants and minimize the negative impacts on the overall development of the child and the family of the premature infant.

Conditions

• Preterm Infants

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Nutrition plan supported by advanced clinical nutrition software

Infants undergo regular anthropometric assessments (weight, length, head circumference), and detailed fluid and nutrient intake is recorded. Weekly analysis of the macronutrient composition of maternal or donor milk is conducted, enabling personalized fortification to meet the infant's current needs. The intervention utilizes a dedicated nutrition software tool, incorporating Fenton growth charts, to support clinical decisions and track progress via z-scores compared to term-born infants. By aligning nutrient supply with individual requirements and promoting early enteral feeding, the project seeks to enhance growth outcomes, minimize risks such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia or retinopathy, and shorten the length of stay in neonatal intensive care.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• General University Hospital, Prague

  collaborator OTHER

• University Hospital Olomouc

  collaborator OTHER

• České Budějovice Hospital

  collaborator OTHER

• Tomáš Baťa Regional Hospital in Zlín

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Brno University Hospital

  collaborator OTHER

• Institute of Health Information and Statistics of the Czech Republic

  lead OTHER_GOV

Principal Investigators

• Richard Plavka, prof. · General Hospital University in Prague

• Jiří Dušek, M.D., MHA · České Budějovice Hospital

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

22 Weeks

Max Age

32 Weeks

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-08-21

Primary Completion

2026-11-30

Completion

2027-02-28

Countries

• Czechia

Study Locations