Abstract
Medical management and care of infants with hypoplastic left-heart syndrome (HLHS) after a stage I Norwood procedure is intensive and complex. However, failure to thrive is common and increases the length of hospital stay. To evaluate feeding practices of patients with HLHS for factors affecting nutrition, growth, morbidity, and mortality, we undertook a review of 28 infants who survived at least 10 days after a stage I Norwood procedure over a 43-month period at our pediatric hospital. It took a median 11 days (range, 1 to 23 days) to reach a maximum feeding of 3800 to 4600 kJ/L (800 to 1100 kcal/L); 32% of patients never achieved normal energy requirements in the hospital. Eleven of 19 hospital survivors had not achieved their birth weight by discharge; only 3 achieved average weight gains >20 g/d over 5 days. Rapid advancement of feedings is recommended during the complicated hospitalization of these patients to promote optimal nutritional status.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.