Infants and samples
sepsis, NEC
DISEASE, SEPSIS, NECROTISING ENTEROCOLITIS
About 479 infants <32 weeks’ gestation were recruited from 13 NICUs, and 467 provided usable samples totalling 10 990 stool and 22 341 urine samples. Sampling by site varied with individual NICUs contributing 3 to 34 infants and between 11 and 205 samples (samples collected per NICU site (figure), Demographic information for study cohorts and for the whole ELFIN and MAGPIE cohortsIMP, Investigational Medicinal Product; LC-MS, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry; LOS, late onset sepsis; NEC, necrotising enterocolitis; VOC, volatile organic compound.Microbiome analysis used 1304 stool samples from 201 infants from all 13 NICUs. LC-MS metabolomics was undertaken on 171 stools from 83 of those infants and 225 urine samples from 90 of those infants. GC-MS VOC analysis was undertaken on 314 stools from 117 of those infants. GC-MS and LC-MS analyses were on samples from the same/next day of life as microbiome samples. Median gestational age at birth of all analysed MAGPIE infants was 27 weeks (IQR 25–29), median birth weight was 965 g (IQR 740–1014). Feeding, antibiotic and probiotic administration practices varied across NICUs, but most (90%) infants received some MOM. Three sites (A, D and E) routinely administered probiotics. In keeping with the ELFIN trial findings, no significant differences in disease prevalence, multiple birth, gestational age, MOM receipt or birth weight were observed between infants receiving lactoferrin supplements or placebo in MAGPIE (