Repeatability of gastric volume measurements and intragastric content using ultrasound in preterm infants

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to determine whether serial gastric volumes and intragastric curding are repeatable within individual preterm infants when given sequential feeds of the same volume and composition. Infant and feeding characteristics that may influence differences in measured gastric volumes, echogenicity, and intragastric curding were also explored. Methods: Ultrasound images were used to calculate gastric volumes and to rate echogenicity and intragastric curding for 20 infants. A total of 29 paired feeds of the same volume and composition were monitored prefeed and postfeed and at 30-minute intervals thereafter. Statistical comparisons of paired gastric volume measurements and agreement between echogenicity and curding ratings were made for each time point. Analyses of factors that influence discrepancies between volume measurements and between curding ratings were performed. Results: Paired gastric volume measurements were repeatable (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC]=0.971, 0.938