Maternal Milk and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes Published in JAMA 

The NICHD Neonatal Research Network’s (NRN) MILK trial, Neurodevelopmental Outcomes of Extremely Preterm Infants Fed Donor Milk or Preterm Infant Formula A Randomized Clinical Trial, was recently published in JAMA.

The study found that the donor milk group had similar neurodevelopmental outcomes as the formula-fed group but a much lower rate of necrotizing enterocolitis, a grave complication of preterm birth. Duke enrolled 10 babies in the study (out of 483 babies enrolled at all 16 centers).

Michael Cotten, MD, MHS stated, "We’ll have to see the overall impact on practice, but with the reduction in NEC risk, that’s likely sufficient to continue what has become a fairly standard approach in NICU’s in their use of donor milk when mother’s milk is not available."

More NRN trials are in the works, including studies of:
• use of phototherapy for extremely preterm infants with hyperbilirubinemia
• use of surfactant with steroid (vs surfactant alone) for extremely preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome

Two recently completed NRN studies which are awaiting publication, include:
• use of hypothermia for preterm infants with brain injury
• use of darbepoetin to reduce transfusions and improve neurodevelopmental outcomes for preterm infants   

Join the NICHD NRN Journal Club on 2/29:

The 5th annual North Carolina NICHD NRN Journal Club on the MILK TRIAL will be held on 2/29 at 4pm. Fellows from Duke, UNC, and ECU will present this study, and Tarah Colaizy, the study's lead investigator, will join as a guest discussant. Also, the event will facilitate the discussion on the practice and use of donor milk across NC. (WakeMed Mothers' Milk Bank in Raleigh is the usual source of donor milk used at the Duke site. Its medical director, Jonathan Seigel, MD, was a Duke neonatology fellow.) Use Zoom Link below to attend the Journal Club.