Nutrition
Meeting the appropriate nutritional needs of preterm infants is important for long-term health. Optimal care may require a balance of meeting nutritional needs and preventing complications related to feeding. The ideal growth rate is not known, however, preterm infants usually require a higher energy intake compared to babies who are born at term. The recommended amount of milk is often prescribed based on approximated nutritional requirements of a similar aged fetus who is not compromised. An immature gastrointestinal tract (GI tract), medical conditions (or co-morbidities), risk of aspirating milk, and necrotizing enterocolitis may lead to difficulties in meeting this high nutritional demand and many preterm infants have nutritional deficits that may result in growth restrictions. In addition, very small preterm infants cannot coordinate sucking, swallowing, and breathing. Tolerating a full enteral feeding (the prescribed volume of milk or formula) is a priority in neonatal care as this reduces the risks associated with venous catheters including infection, and may reduce the length of time the infant requires specialized care in the hospital. Different strategies can be used to optimize feeding for preterm infants. The type of milk/formula and fortifiers, route of administration (by mouth, tube feeding, venous catheter), timing of feeding, quantity of milk, continuous or intermittent feeding, and managing gastric residuals are all considered by the neonatal care team when optimizing care.
Miglitol is an oral anti-diabetic drug that acts by inhibiting the ability of the patient to break down complex carbohydrates into glucose. It is primarily used in diabetes mellitus type 2 for establishing greater glycemic control by preventing the digestion of carbohydrates (such as disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides) into monosaccharides which can be absorbed by the body.Miglitol, and other structurally-related iminosugars, inhibit glycoside hydrolase enzymes called alpha-glucosidases. Since miglitol works by preventing digestion of carbohydrates, it lowers the degree of postprandial hyperglycemia. It must be taken at the start of main meals to have maximal effect. Its effect will depend on the amount of non-monosaccharide carbohydrates in a persons diet. In contrast to acarbose (another alpha-glucosidase inhibitor), miglitol is systemically absorbed; however, it is not metabolized and is excreted by the kidneys. See also
Alpha-glucosidase inhibitor
Miglustat
Voglibose


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