An interventional study of Colostrum and Normal Saline in Growth Failure, Preterm Birth and Microbiota, sponsored by Suqian First Hospital. Not yet recruiting. Open to participants aged 0 Days to 1 Day. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-07-24.
Sponsored by Suqian First Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
The goal of this clinical trial is to ascertain whether oropharyngeal administration of colostrum contributes to postnatal growth in very preterm infants (those born before 32 weeks of gestation). The main questions it aims to answer are:
Can Oropharyngeal administration of colostrum effectively lower the incidence rate of extrauterine growth restriction (EUGR) in participants? Does oropharyngeal colostrum intervention bring about changes in the early gut microbiota of participants? Researchers will conduct a comparative analysis between colostrum and a placebo (normal saline) to investigate whether oropharyngeal administration of colostrum has a beneficial effect on the postnatal growth of participants.
Participants will:
Initiation of oropharyngeal colostrum administration will take place within 48 - 72 hours after birth, and the treatment will be administered continuously for a period of 5 days.
Stool samples will be collected from the participants both before and after the intervention.
Participants will be required to maintain a diary to document their basic characteristics and clinical outcomes.
84 studies on the registry are indexed under Failure to Thrive; 12 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 220 is above the median of 100 across 56 interventional studies indexed under Failure to Thrive.
Browse Failure to Thrive studies →This is the only study on the registry with Suqian First Hospital as lead sponsor.
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Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
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The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.
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Contraindication
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
HIV
The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.
Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
The study population will be randomly assigned to either the oropharyngeal colostrum administration group or the normal saline administration group. The intervention will commence within 48-72 h of birth and will be administered continuously for a duration of 5 days, with stool samples collected from the preterm infants before and after the intervention.
Other: Colostrum
The study population will be randomly assigned to either the oropharyngeal colostrum administration group or the normal saline administration group. The normal saline administration will commence within 48-72 h of birth and will be administered continuously for a duration of 5 days, with stool samples collected from the preterm infants before and after thenormal saline administration.
Other: Normal Saline
The treatment group will undergo the following treatment protocol within the initial 48-72 h: Investigators will select storage bags with the closest lactation time to the current time while wearing sterile gloves for the entire procedure. Next, using two 1-mL sterile syringes, investigators will draw 0.1 mL of colostrum from each bag and tightly cap the needle hubs to ensure hygiene and safety. Each syringe will be labeled with the hospitalization number, the infant's name, and the date of the mother's colostrum expression. The bags will be then left to sit at room temperature for 5 min to reach an appropriate temperature for oropharyngeal administration of the colostrum. Subsequently, the tip and cap of the first syringe will be removed, and the colostrum will be slowly injected along the right oral mucosa of the participants, lasting at least 20 s. After injection, a sterile cotton swab will be used to gently wipe the right buccal mucosa for at least 10 s.
For the control group, normal saline will be used instead of colostrum. The rest of the procedure will be the same as that for the treatment group.
The incidence rate of extrauterine growth restriction (EUGR) among participants at the time of hospital discharge
EUGR is defined as the situation where the growth measurement (weight, head circumference, or body length) taken at the time of discharge is less than or equal to the 10th percentile of the predicted value based on the Fenton 2013 growth chart.
Time frame: The time frame extends from the first day of hospitalization to the day of discharge, covering the entire inpatient stay, with an average duration of 1.5 months.
The inter-group variances in the gut microbiota of participants subsequent to the intervention
The inter - group variances in alpha diversity of the gut microbiota between the colostrum - treated group and the placebo - treated group after the intervention
Time frame: The seventh day after birth
Intergroup difference in the time to regain birth weight
The time to regain birth weight is an easily overlooked variable in the nutritional management of preterm infants. Previous studies have shown a significant linear relationship between the time to regain birth weight and the growth of very preterm infants after birth. Combining the factors of gestational age and birth weight can better reflect the growth of preterm infants after birth and a nutritional evaluation index for a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Time frame: Up to 10 days, with an average of 5 days.
The incidence rate of bronchopulmonary dysplasia
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a chronic lung disease that predominantly affects premature infants, especially those with extremely low birth weights or those who have experienced severe respiratory distress syndrome shortly after birth. It represents a significant complication in neonatal intensive care units and has long - term implications for the respiratory health and overall development of affected infants. Here, BPD is defined as the need for oxygen or respiratory support at the corrected gestational age of 36 weeks.
Time frame: The time frame extends from the first day of hospitalization to the day of discharge, covering the entire inpatient stay, with an average duration of 1.5 months.
No study locations are listed for this record.
Start is estimated for Sep 2025; primary completion for Aug 2028, 35 months later.
Of 18 interventional studies with no phase under Failure to Thrive, half reached primary completion within 18 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 9 and three quarters within 30. This study's planned 35 months is above that.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Jul 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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