RESUMO
Inositol or placebo was given to 48 small preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome (mean birth weight 1365 g, gestational age 30.1 weeks) between 48 hours and 10 days of age. The dose of inositol, 40 mg/kg every 6 hours, was at least as high as amounts received in full preterm human milk feedings. Serum inositol concentration increased between days 2 and 3 from a mean of 566 mumol/L to 823 mumol/L in the infants given supplement and fell from 451 mumol/L to 292 mumol/L in the controls. On day 16, serum inositol values remained higher in the infants given supplement than in those given placebo (mean 334 mumol/L vs 146 mumol/L, P = 0.014). The infants who developed bronchopulmonary dysplasia had significantly higher renal inositol clearance, lower inositol intake, and lower serum inositol concentrations. Inositol supplementation increased the saturated phosphatidylcholine/sphingomyelin ratio in tracheal aspirates. According to these results, supplementation with inositol in preterm infants leads to a rise in serum inositol concentration and improvement in the surfactant phospholipids. Inositol deserves further study as a dietary supplement for immature preterm infants who do not receive full human milk feeds.