Abstract
Eleven post-operative newborns and babies who had poor weight gain in spite of full milk feeding had a supplementation of polymeric diet to breast milk or powdered milk. The polymeric diet included dextrin, rice oil, casein, minerals and vitamins which are more easily absorbable than milk by alternative pathway for absorption of saccharides. They achieved accelerated weight gain significantly while the polymeric diet was given (from 13.5±8.4g/day to 32.7±18.2g/day; n = 14) and they had less weight gain after it was discontinued in spite of minimal change in total caloric intake (from 42.0±18.9g/day to 9.5±10.1g/day; n = 7). The transaminase increased in 1 patient and the diarrhea became worse in another who had ileostomy while the polymeric diet was supplemented over about 40% of total calory intake. The supplementation of the polymeric diet, therefore, is recommended to be limited less than 30-40% of the total caloric intake.
