Protein levels in enteral feeds: do these meet requirements in children with severe cerebral palsy?

Children with cerebral palsy (CP) have been documented to have feeding difficulties, which increase in line with condition severity and result in lowered growth potential. Much nutrition literature surrounds energy intake and expenditure in these children, with less information available on other pa...

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Main Authors: Schoendorfer, N., Tinggi, U., Sharp, N., Boyd, Roslyn, Vitetta, L., Davies, P.
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2012
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/8681
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author Schoendorfer, N.
Tinggi, U.
Sharp, N.
Boyd, Roslyn
Vitetta, L.
Davies, P.
author_facet Schoendorfer, N.
Tinggi, U.
Sharp, N.
Boyd, Roslyn
Vitetta, L.
Davies, P.
author_sort Schoendorfer, N.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Children with cerebral palsy (CP) have been documented to have feeding difficulties, which increase in line with condition severity and result in lowered growth potential. Much nutrition literature surrounds energy intake and expenditure in these children, with less information available on other parameters such as protein and micronutrients, which are also important for growth and development. We examined differences in protein intake and a variety of protein metabolism indices in children with CP compared with controls. A total of twenty-four children aged 4-12 years with marked CP fed orally (O, n 15) or enterally (E, n 9) were recruited, including age-matched typically developing children (C, n 24). Fasting blood samples were analysed for levels of albumin, creatinine, urea and urate. Parents collected an exact food replica for three consecutive days of their child's actual intake, which were directly analysed for protein content. Significant differences were found in protein intakes between the groups (mean percentage minimum requirements: E = 178 (sd 47); O = 208 (sd 95); C = 311 (sd 119), P = 0·005). Despite all children consuming over recommended levels, children with CP had significantly reduced levels of the protein metabolic indices compared with controls. These include as z-scores: albumin mean C = 0·71 (sd 1·04) and CP = - 0·17 (sd 1·60), P = 0·03; creatinine C = - 2·06 (sd 0·46) and CP = - 3·11 (sd 0·98), P < 0·001; urate C = 0·18 (sd 0·62) and CP = - 0·58 (sd 0·93), P = 0·002. Post hoc analysis, the present data show potentially greater protein metabolism issues in enterally fed children, compared with the other groups. This may also support recent literature that suggests shortfalls in current recommendations.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-86812017-09-13T14:51:29Z Protein levels in enteral feeds: do these meet requirements in children with severe cerebral palsy? Schoendorfer, N. Tinggi, U. Sharp, N. Boyd, Roslyn Vitetta, L. Davies, P. Children with cerebral palsy (CP) have been documented to have feeding difficulties, which increase in line with condition severity and result in lowered growth potential. Much nutrition literature surrounds energy intake and expenditure in these children, with less information available on other parameters such as protein and micronutrients, which are also important for growth and development. We examined differences in protein intake and a variety of protein metabolism indices in children with CP compared with controls. A total of twenty-four children aged 4-12 years with marked CP fed orally (O, n 15) or enterally (E, n 9) were recruited, including age-matched typically developing children (C, n 24). Fasting blood samples were analysed for levels of albumin, creatinine, urea and urate. Parents collected an exact food replica for three consecutive days of their child's actual intake, which were directly analysed for protein content. Significant differences were found in protein intakes between the groups (mean percentage minimum requirements: E = 178 (sd 47); O = 208 (sd 95); C = 311 (sd 119), P = 0·005). Despite all children consuming over recommended levels, children with CP had significantly reduced levels of the protein metabolic indices compared with controls. These include as z-scores: albumin mean C = 0·71 (sd 1·04) and CP = - 0·17 (sd 1·60), P = 0·03; creatinine C = - 2·06 (sd 0·46) and CP = - 3·11 (sd 0·98), P < 0·001; urate C = 0·18 (sd 0·62) and CP = - 0·58 (sd 0·93), P = 0·002. Post hoc analysis, the present data show potentially greater protein metabolism issues in enterally fed children, compared with the other groups. This may also support recent literature that suggests shortfalls in current recommendations. 2012 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/8681 10.1017/S0007114511004533 unknown
spellingShingle Schoendorfer, N.
Tinggi, U.
Sharp, N.
Boyd, Roslyn
Vitetta, L.
Davies, P.
Protein levels in enteral feeds: do these meet requirements in children with severe cerebral palsy?
title Protein levels in enteral feeds: do these meet requirements in children with severe cerebral palsy?
title_full Protein levels in enteral feeds: do these meet requirements in children with severe cerebral palsy?
title_fullStr Protein levels in enteral feeds: do these meet requirements in children with severe cerebral palsy?
title_full_unstemmed Protein levels in enteral feeds: do these meet requirements in children with severe cerebral palsy?
title_short Protein levels in enteral feeds: do these meet requirements in children with severe cerebral palsy?
title_sort protein levels in enteral feeds: do these meet requirements in children with severe cerebral palsy?
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/8681