Growth in gastroschisis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Assessing pre- and post-natal growth and nutrition in gastroschisis
IRAS ID
191059
Contact name
Nigel Hall
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
We plan to investigate the nutrition and growth of babies with a condition called gastroschisis. We know that babies with this condition are born small and often do not grow well after birth but we don’t know why. We hope this study will tell us more about their growth so that we may be able to treat them better in the future. The study will involve women with an unborn baby with gastroschisis and the baby after birth.
From the Mum we will record height, weight, some other body measurements and collect 2 extra blood samples during pregnancy to measure nutrients. We will record routine and some additional information from antenatal ultrasound scans. At delivery we will take some umbilical cord blood placental samples. We will compare results with data from the healthy population to look for differences.
After birth, we will take detailed body measurements from the baby and record information about feed type and nutrient intake during their hospital stay. We will perform some special tests to measure how much water, fat and muscle there is in each baby’s body. These are non-invasive, safe and do not cause any discomfort. We will routinely collect samples of stool and fluid from the stomach (using a tube that they already have as part of their treatment) to look for changes in bacteria in the gut that may influence how well a baby grows.
Some babies with gastroschisis seem to be intolerant of some types of milk which affects their growth. If we suspect this we will take some extra blood to see if we can develop a laboratory test for this. We hope that developing such a test would help other babies in the future.
REC name
South Central - Hampshire B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/SC/0702
Date of REC Opinion
7 Jan 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion