Does intravenous fish oil affect the growth of extremely low birth weight preterm infants on parenteral nutrition?

Long chain n-3 fatty acids (n-3 LCPUFA) play a pivotal role during central nervous system development and the provision of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is recommended for the preterm infant. However, there are concerns that oral fish oil, which is a good source of DHA, may adversely affect growth of preterm infants, as it decreases arachidonic acid (ARA). It has been about ten years since fish oil was added to the fat blend of intravenous (IV) lipid emulsions (LE) but information on growth and other clinical outcomes of preterm infants is still scarce.

Source: Clinical Nutrition - October 16, 2018 Category: Nutrition Authors: Chiara Biagetti, Alessio Correani, Rita D ’Ascenzo, Maria Paola Bellagamba, Paolo Marchionni, Luca Antognoli, Adriana Pompilio, Paola Cogo, Virgilio P. Carnielli Tags: Original article Source Type: research