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The Effectiveness of Modified Fat Breast Milk for the Treatment of Chyothorax in Infants Following Cardiothoracic Surgery

Background: Chylothorax occurs in ~4% of children undergoing cardiac surgery. Treatment requires transition to a medium chain triglyceride (MCT) based formula. Breast milk (EBM) is discontinued due to the presence of long chain triglycerides. Objective: To determine the effectiveness of a modified fat breast milk for the treatment of chylothorax. Methods: Infants with chylothorax were eligible. Treatment infants (n=8) received EBM that had been modified by removing the fat layer (centrifugation) from EBM and adding MCT and nutrients to provide 67 kcal/ml and 11 g/100 ml protein. Control infants (n=8) received MCT formula. Results: Volume of chest tube drainage was not different (p<0.40). Treatment infants experienced declines in mean weight (p<0.006), length (p<0.013) and head circumference (p<0.008) z-scores. Conclusion: Modified fat breast milk allowed for successful resolution of chylothorax. Strategies to address poor growth, however, need to be tested before clinical adoption of this novel treatment.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:OTU.1807/30586
Date07 December 2011
CreatorsFarmer, Sarah Linda
ContributorsO'Connor, Deborah Louise
Source SetsLibrary and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
Languageen_ca
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis

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