Total parenteral nutrition for the very low birth weight infant.

Preterm infants, especially very low birth weight (VLBW; <1500 g) and extremely low birth weight (ELBW; <1000 g) infants, are susceptible to growth failure in postnatal life if nutritional demands are not met. Poor postnatal growth in preterm infants is associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes during childhood. Early parental nutrition is of paramount importance to provide appropriate protein and energy in VLBW infants when enteral nutrition is not feasible or is suboptimal. An "early and aggressive" approach of parenteral nutrition in preterm infants has been shown to prevent protein catabolism, induce positive nitrogen balance and improve postnatal growth.