Does the sugar absorption test provide guidelines for the time to (re-)introduce enteral nutrition?
Piena-Spoel M ; Albers MJ ; ten Kate J ; Tibboel D Department of Pediatric Surgery, University Hospital/Sophia Children’s Hospital, Dr. Molewaterplein 60, 3015GJ Rotterdam, The Netherlands. BACKGROUND: In necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), (sub)mucosal edema, hemorrhage, ulceration, or necrosis will disturb intestinal integrity, as reflected by an increased intestinal permeability. Enteral substrate is therefore withheld for a variable period up to 3 weeks (in many clinics). The authors used the sugar absorption test to measure intestinal permeability changes in surgically treated necrotizing enterocolitis patients and surgical controls to evaluate the usefulness of this test in timing the (re-)introduction of enteral feeding in NEC patients as intestinal integrity recovers. METHODS: Changes in intestinal permeability to lactulose and rhamnose were evaluated prospectively in 13 children with NEC and 10 operated control patients. The patients were given 1 mL/kg body weight lactulose/rhamn
