Experience of using semi-elemental formulas for enteral nutrition in children with cystic fibrosis

Introduction. The issues of choosing the optimal product for enteral nutrition in children with cystic fibrosis in combination with comorbid conditions require a special clinical approach and cause difficulties for practitioners. Aim. To evaluate the effectiveness of correcting the nutritional status in children with cystic fibrosis against the background of concomitant conditions using a semi-element product for enteral nutrition. Materials and methods. 20 children (boys – 9, girls – 11) aged from 1 year to 3 years (average age 2.9±0.7 years) with a diagnosis of cystic fibrosis and concomitant comorbid conditions - uncupable intestinal syndrome, post-resection syndrome against the background of meconial ileus, food allergy (the semi-element formula was prescribed according to indications, the evaluation of effectiveness according to the SCORAD index was not included in the objectives of the study). The state of actual nutrition, pancreatin doses, intestinal syndrome, nutritional status (anthropometric indicators) were evaluated at baseline (before) and 3 months (after) the use of Peptamen Junior in the study group. Design:prospective, observational, without comparison group. Results and discussion. The analysis showed that the anthropometric indicators significantly increased against the background of the correction of the diet and the use of “Peptamen Junior” as an additional food. BMI increased from 34.5 percentiles to 57.0 (p < 0.05). Correction of nutrition using a semi-element formula with an altered fat composition, including SCT, and correction of the dose of pancreatic enzymes by calculating the fat content in food, led to a decrease in the manifestations of intestinal syndrome. Conclusion.The results obtained indicate the clinical effectiveness of the semi-element formula for enteral nutrition for the correction of nutritional deficiency (BMI less than 50 percentile) in young children with cystic fibrosis and concomitant pathology that requires a special approach.