# Practice of Routine Monitoring of Gastric Residual in Preterm Infants: A Meta-Analysis Article

## TL;DR

This study finds that routine monitoring of gastric residual in preterm infants does not prevent serious complications and may be safely avoided.

## Contribution

The study provides a meta-analysis showing that routine gastric residual monitoring in preterm infants is unnecessary and may reduce hospitalization time and sepsis risk.

## Key findings

- Routine gastric residual monitoring does not reduce necrotizing enterocolitis incidence.
- The practice helps achieve full enteral feeds faster and reduces hospitalization duration.
- It also lowers the incidence of late-onset sepsis and days on parenteral nutrition.

## Abstract

Background: Controversy exists about the usefulness of gastric residual (GR) evaluation in preterm infants, and different results have been obtained in studies addressing this practice. Therefore, this meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the practice of routine monitoring of GR compared to avoiding routine aspiration or alternative interventions. Methods: An online database search was conducted for relevant randomized trials from 2017 to 2023. The efficacy of the intervention was assessed from the incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and the time taken for full enteral feeds. The safety was assessed from the duration of hospitalization, incidence of late-onset sepsis, and days of total parenteral nutrition. Results: Only six studies were deemed eligible, fit the inclusion criteria, and were included in the quantitative synthesis. There was no significant difference between the groups in the incidence of NEC, with a mean difference of 0.95 (95% CI: 0.52, 1.75), while the intervention practice showed the early achievement of full enteral feeds (−2.21; 95% CI: −2.58, −1.84), a shorter duration of hospitalization (−0.65; 95% CI: −1.33, 0.02), a lower incidence of late-onset sepsis (0.70; 95% CI: 0.45, 1.09), and less days of total parenteral nutrition −1.65 (95% CI: −1.90, −1.40). Conclusions: For preterm infants with no signs of feeling intolerance, the results from this study stress the omission of the practice of routine gastric residual aspiration.