MONTREAL, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- Premature babies are fed intravenously because of their immature digestive systems and nutritional requirements. Researchers found that keeping IV containers in the dark -- from the time they are prepared until they are used -- protects the nutrients from generating oxidants the infants' systems can't handle.
Keeping the nutrients in the dark reduced premature infant mortality by half because doing so slightly mimics the environment of the womb, allowing infants to absorb the proteins, fat and glucose they need to develop just as fetuses do when not born early.
Protecting the nutrients can also help prevent potential complications such as pulmonary and kidney dysfunction or generalized infection.
ʺThe photo-excited vitamins B2 and 'electron donors' such as vitamin C, amino acids and lipids all interact in the multivitamin solution and generate oxidants," Dr. Jean-Claude Lavoie, a researcher at the University of Montreal, said in a press release. "This creates an oxidative stress which damages and kills newborn cells. Fortunately, studies show that shielding parenteral nutrition from light significantly decreases such an interaction."
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The researchers conducted a meta-analysis of studies conducted from 1980 to 2014 that included 800 infants born between 26 and 31 weeks gestation. Only randomized studies were included, with infants receiving either a light-protected nutrient solution or light-exposed solution. All of the studies reported either infant mortality at 36 weeks or hospital discharge.
Among the infants who received the light-protected solution, researchers found a 50 percent reduction in mortality. Boys also were found to be half as resistant to oxidative stress as girls, the analysis revealed.
The key, said Maxime Thibault, a pharmacist at CHU Saint-Justine Hospital, said partial protection of the nutrients from light also would not be protective enough to prevent oxidant generation. "The solution has to be shielded from the moment it is prepared in the pharmacy all the way through to infusion on the ward, including all bags, tubing and syringes through which it passes," she said.
ʺThe conclusions to be drawn are clear," Lavoie said. "An easy to implement, fully light-shielded delivery system for parenteral nutrition needs to be developed to reduce mortality rates in premature infants."
The study is published in the Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.
