Cisapride may improve feeding tolerance of preterm infants: A randomized placebo-controlled trial

To evaluate the efficacy of cisapride in improving tolerance of enteral feeding, 59 premature infants were randomized into a blinded placebo-controlled study. Treatment was initiated with the introduction of enteral feeding and continued until 150 ml/kg/day of milk were tolerated. Only in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants, was the time to tolerate full enteral feeding shorter in the treatment group, whereas ECG recordings showed a significantly prolonged QTc interval during treatment. Two children developed cardiac rhythm disturbances. In conclusion premature infants may not benefit from routine use of the drug to improve enteral feeding, and seem to be more vulnerable to its side effects.