Use of medium-chain triglycerides in feeding the low-birth-weight infant
E. Okamoto, C. R. Muttart, C. L. Zucker and W. C. Heird
Intestinal fat absorption and anthropometric and clinical variables were
monitored weekly in 21 low-birth-weight (LBW) infants fed either a
whey-predominant cow's-milk formula (formula 1) or identical formulas with
medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) comprising 40% (formula 2) or 80%
(formula 3) of the fat content. Fat absorption of infants fed formula 1
averaged 86.7% of intake, whereas that of infants fed formulas 2 and 3
averaged 93.8% and 95.4%, respectively. However, no differences in weight,
length, head circumference, or skin fold thickness were observed. Moreover,
intestinal symptoms were encountered more frequently in infants fed
formulas 2 and 3. This demonstrated failure of the resulting small increase
in fat absorption incident to MCTs either to promote enhanced growth or to
confer obvious clinical benefit does not support the increasing use of MCT
formulas for routine feeding of LBW infants.
