Impact of Oral Application of Gastrografin on the Meconium Evacuation in Very Low Birth Weight Infants
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2011-02-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Gastrografin is a radiopaque contrast agent for the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) which can be
applied orally or rectally. In neonatal intensive care, Gastrografin is used to detect
otherwise radiologically invisible perforations or an insufficient GIT anastomosis after
surgery. Furthermore it is used for the treatment of meconium ileus. Gastrografin has a
strong osmotic effect and leads to water influx into the intestine lumen. Thereby the
peristaltic movement is accelerated and the premature infant excretes stool during the hours
following application. Therefore Gastrografin might be effective to mobilize meconium from
small bowel and deep parts of the colon. The investigators hypothesized that enteral
application of Gastrografin accelerates meconium evacuation in premature infants, and thereby
enhances feeding tolerance in this population.