PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Collins, Carmel T
AU  - Gibson, Robert A
AU  - Anderson, Peter J
AU  - McPhee, Andrew J
AU  - Sullivan, Thomas R
AU  - Gould, Jacqueline F
AU  - Ryan, Philip
AU  - Doyle, Lex W
AU  - Davis, Peter G
AU  - McMichael, Judy E
AU  - French, Noel P
AU  - Colditz, Paul B
AU  - Simmer, Karen
AU  - Morris, Scott A
AU  - Makrides, Maria
TI  - Neurodevelopmental outcomes at 7 years’ corrected age in preterm infants who were fed high-dose docosahexaenoic acid to term equivalent: a follow-up of a randomised controlled trial
AID  - 10.1136/bmjopen-2014-007314
DP  - 2015 Mar 01
TA  - BMJ Open
PG  - e007314
VI  - 5
IP  - 3
4099  - http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/5/3/e007314.short
4100  - http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/5/3/e007314.full
SO  - BMJ Open2015 Mar 01; 5
AB  - Objective To determine if improvements in cognitive outcome detected at 18 months’ corrected age (CA) in infants born <33 weeks’ gestation receiving a high-docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) compared with standard-DHA diet were sustained in early childhood. Design Follow-up of a multicentre randomised controlled trial. Randomisation was stratified for sex, birth weight (<1250 vs ≥1250 g) and hospital. Setting Five Australian tertiary hospitals from 2008 to 2013. Participants 626 of the 657 participants randomised between 2001 and 2005 were eligible to participate. Interventions High-DHA (≈1% total fatty acids) enteral feeds compared with standard-DHA (≈0.3% total fatty acids) from age 2–4 days until term CA. Primary outcome Full Scale IQ of the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) at 7 years CA. Prespecified subgroup analyses based on the randomisation strata (sex, birth weight) were conducted. Results 604 (92% of the 657 originally randomised) consented to participate (291 high-DHA, 313 standard-DHA). To address missing data in the 604 consenting participants (22 for primary outcome), multiple imputation was performed. The Full Scale IQ was not significantly different between groups (high-DHA 98.3, SD 14.0, standard-DHA 98.5, SD 14.9; mean difference adjusted for sex, birthweight strata and hospital −0.3, 95% CI −2.9 to 2.2; p=0.79). There were no significant differences in any secondary outcomes. In prespecified subgroup analyses, there was a significant sex by treatment interaction on measures of parent-reported executive function and behaviour. Scores were within the normal range but girls receiving the high-DHA diet scored significantly higher (poorer outcome) compared with girls receiving the standard-DHA diet. Conclusions Supplementing the diets of preterm infants with a DHA dose of approximately 1% total fatty acids from days 2–4 until term CA showed no evidence of benefit at 7 years’ CA. Trial registration number Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12606000327583.