Osmolality of carbohydrate solutions and gastric emptying in the newborn
L. I. Hunt, D. L. Antonson, C. L. Paxson Jr and J. A. Vanderhoff
Gastric emptying in normal newborns was studied with use of a double marker
technique. The volume of 200 to 400 mOsm carbohydrate solutions emptied
from the stomach in 30 minutes was determined. To evaluate isocaloric
solutions of different osmolalities, the osmolality of a 400-mOsm glucose
solution was decreased to 300 and 200 mOsm/L by replacing a portion of the
glucose with glucose oligosaccharides (GOSs). Because GOSs could be rapidly
hydrolyzed in the duodenum, the effect of osmolality alone was studied by
adding xylose to a 200-mOsm glucose solution to increase the osmolality to
300 and 400 mOsm/L. The volumes of the various solutions emptied in 30
minutes were not significantly different. These findings suggest that
decreasing formula osmolality from 400 to 200 mOsm offers no intrinsic
advantage with regard to gastric emptying.
