Evaluation of effect of medium chain triglycerides on growth pattern of newborn in a tertiary care hospital

Introduction: Most common causes for developmental delay and neonatal death are prematurity and low birth weight. Unfortunately, these neonates have feeding intolerance and should be fed very slowly. Slow weight gain and poor oral-motor ability to feed are common factors delaying discharge from hospitals in infants born prematurely. Improved weight gain is the most commonly and consistently reported effect of massage in preterm infants with significantly greater daily or overall weight gain found in infants who received massage compared to controls. MCT OIL (SIMYL MCT OIL) Medium Chain Triglyceride has been practiced routinely used for LBW babies to supplement fat calories in the diet as it is standard formula and widely used in India and Foreign countries, which help in increasing the weight of the babies. Materials and Methods: An open label prospective, randomized control study was performed on 120 stable neonates from December 2016 to June 2018 in level III NICU of department of Pediatrics. Inborn neonates with gestation more than 30 weeks, weighing between 1800-2500 gm and who were haemodynamically stable were enrolled in the study. Neonates were divided into three groups which include daily massage with coconut oil, daily massage with Medium Chain Triglyceride oil and daily massage with Medium Chain Triglyceride oil+ oral intake of Medium Chain Triglyceride oil. The data generated was collected and analyzed for growth pattern of newborn among three groups. Result: 120 neonates were enrolled, 40 neonates in each group. In comparison between group A and group B there was significant weight gain in group B (p-value-0.001) (83.5%) in comparison to group A (69.3%) since birth after 3 months of therapy. In comparison between group B and group C there was significant weight gain in group C (p-value-0.018) (88.7%) in comparison to group B. There was also significant weight gain in group C in comparison to group A (p-value-0.001). Other parameters like length, head circumference, neurodevelopmental outcome did not have any significant change after therapy. Conclusion: In this study we found that medium chain triglyceride massage + oral intake have significant effect on weight gain more than the medium chain triglyceride massage and coconut massage therapy but oil massage therapy alone is also an effective method for weight gain but statistically significant data could not be obtained in terms of length, head circumference and neurodevelopment outcome.