Carmel T Collins, Maria Makrides, Andrew J McPhee, Thomas R Sullivan, Peter G Davis, Marta Thio, Karen Simmer, Victor S Rajadurai, Javeed Travadi, Mary J Berry, Helen G Liley, Gillian F Opie, Kenneth Tan, Kei Lui, Scott A Morris, Jacqueline Stack, Michael J Stark, Mei-Chien Chua, Pooja A Jayagobi, James Holberton, Srinivas Bolisetty, Ian R Callander, Deborah L Harris, Robert A Gibson
BACKGROUND: Studies in animals and in humans have suggested that docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid, might reduce the risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, but appropriately designed trials are lacking. METHODS: We randomly assigned 1273 infants born before 29 weeks of gestation (stratified according to sex, gestational age [<27 weeks or 27 to <29 weeks], and center) within 3 days after their first enteral feeding to receive either an enteral emulsion providing DHA at a dose of 60 mg per kilogram of body weight per day or a control (soy) emulsion without DHA until 36 weeks of postmenstrual age...
March 30, 2017: New England Journal of Medicine