Loading...
Assessing whether early attention of very preterm infants can be improved by an omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid intervention: a follow-up of a randomised controlled tria
Gould, Jacqueline F. Colombo, John Collins, Carmel T. Makrides, Maria Hewawasam, Erandi Smithers, Lisa G
Gould, Jacqueline F.
Colombo, John
Collins, Carmel T.
Makrides, Maria
Hewawasam, Erandi
Smithers, Lisa G
Citations
Altmetric:
Abstract
Introduction Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) accumulates
in the frontal lobes (responsible for higher-order cognitive
skills) of the fetal brain during the last trimester of
pregnancy. Infants born preterm miss some of this in utero
provision of DHA, and have an increased risk of suboptimal
neurodevelopment. It is thought that supplementing infants
born preterm with DHA may improve developmental
outcomes. The aim of this follow-up is to determine
whether DHA supplementation in infants born preterm can
improve areas of the brain associated with frontal lobe
function, namely attention and distractibility.
Methods and analysis We will assess a subset
of children from the N-3 (omega-3) Fatty Acids
for Improvement in Respiratory Outcomes (N3RO)
multicentre double-blind randomised controlled trial
of DHA supplementation. Infants born <29 weeks’
completed gestation were randomised to receive an
enteral emulsion containing 60 mg/kg/day of DHA or a
control emulsion from within the first 3 days of enteral
feeding until 36 weeks’ postmenstrual age. Children will
undergo multiple measures of attention at 18 months’
corrected age. The primary outcome is the average time
to be distracted when attention is focused on a toy.
Secondary outcomes are other aspects of attention, and
(where possible) an assessment of cognition, language
and motor development with the Bayley Scales of Infant
and Toddler Development, Third Edition. A minimum of
72 children will be assessed to ensure 85% power to
detect an effect on the primary outcome. Families, and
research personnel are blinded to group assignment. All
analyses will be conducted according to the intentionto-treat principal.
Ethics and dissemination All procedures were approved
by the relevant institutional ethics committees prior to
commencement of the study. Results will be disseminated
in peer-reviewed journal publications and academic
presentations.
Trial registration number ACTRN12612000503820; Preresults.
Description
Date
2018-05-26
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
BMJ
Collections
Files
Loading...
assesing whether.pdf
Adobe PDF, 364.24 KB
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Keywords
Citation
Gould JF, Colombo J, Collins CT, et al. Assessing whether early attention of
very preterm infants can be improved by an omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated
fatty acid intervention: a follow-up of a randomised controlled trial.
BMJ Open 2018;8:e020043. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020043