Acid Reflux Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Acid Reflux, including details on diet, gerd (gastro-esophageal reflux disease), treatment, symptoms.

Effect of body position changes on postprandial gastroesophageal reflux and gastric emptying in the healthy premature neonate.

van Wijk MP, Benninga MA, Dent J, Lontis R, Goodchild L, McCall LM, Haslam R, Davidson GP, Omari T

Centre for Paediatric and Adolescent Gastroenterology, Women's and Children's Hospital, Children, Youth and Women's Health Services, North Adelaide, Australia. m.p.vanwijk@amc.uva.nl

OBJECTIVE: To identify a body-positioning regimen that promotes gastric emptying (GE) and reduces gastroesophageal reflux (GER) by changing body position 1 hour after feeding. STUDY DESIGN: Ten healthy preterm infants (7 male; mean postmenstrual age, 36 weeks [range, 33 to 38 weeks]) were monitored with combined esophageal impedance-manometry. Infants were positioned in the left lateral position (LLP) or right lateral position (RLP) and then gavage-fed. After 1 hour, the position was changed to the opposite side. Subsequently, all infants were restudied with the order of positioning reversed. RESULTS: There was more liquid GER in the RLP than in the LLP (median, 9.5 [range, 6.0 to 22.0] vs 2.0 [range, 0.0 to 5.0] episodes/hour; P = .002). In the RLP-first protocol, the number of liquid GER episodes per hour decreased significantly after position change (first postprandial hour [RLP], 5.5 [2.0 to 13.0] vs second postprandial hour [LLP], 0.0 [0.0 to 1.0]; P = .002). GE was faster in the RLP-first protocol than in the LLP-first protocol (37.0 +/- 21.1 vs 61.2 +/- 24.8 minutes; P = .006). CONCLUSIONS: A strategy of right lateral positioning for the first postprandial hour with a position change to the left thereafter promotes GE and reduces liquid GER in the late postprandial period and may prove to be a simple therapeutic approach for infants with GER disease.

Published 23 November 2007 in J Pediatr, 151(6): 585-90, 590.e1-2.
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