The Mega Donna Mega study is now published in JAMA Pediatrics. This Swedish randomized clinical trial has showed that enteral supplementation with arachidonic acid (AA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) reduced the risk of severe retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) by 50% in extremely preterm infants. In addition, the group that received enteral AA and DHA supplementation showed higher serum levels of both AA and DHA compared with controls.
Two hundred and six extremely premature children participated in the study between 2016 and 2019 at the neonatal units at three university hospitals. The study PI was professor Ann Hellström, Gothenburg University.
“The results of the study are very important and might help to reduce the risk of visual impairment in this vulnerable patient category”, says Magnus Domellöf, one of the authors of the study. “Before recommendations are given, we are awaiting the results of a similar trial ongoing in Oslo, the ImNuT study”
You can read the article on JAMA Pediatrics here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2775874