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Gastrointestinal ComplicationNCT06072976

The Influence of Feeding Source on the Gut Microbiome and Time to Full Feeds in Neonates With Congenital Gastrointestinal Pathologies

A study testing Exclusive Human Milk in people with Gastrointestinal Complication and Intestinal Obstruction, run by Seattle Children's Hospital at 1 site in United States.

Recruiting

Looking for participants now. Contact the study team or a site below to ask about taking part.

Sites and contacts
Official record
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Trial summary

This study explores the use of an exclusive human milk diet versus standard feeding practices to compare the influence on feeding outcomes and the gut bacteria in infants with intestinal differences. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 0 days to 55 years
What is being tested?
Exclusive Human Milk
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
116 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
9 Jun 2023to 9 Jun 2027
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 0 days to 55 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Child, Adult

Who may be able to join

  • Infants with gastroschisis, giant omphalocele, intestinal atresia, mid-gut volvulus, hirschsprungs disease.

Who cannot join

  • Infant has already been on feeds
  • Infants <34 weeks gestation
  • Parents with contraindications to providing milk (i.e. drug use-cocaine, fentanyl, meth BUT oxy/suboxone/marijuana OK)
  • Complicated gastroschisis
  • Short gut syndrome
  • Additional congenital anomalies that affect ability to tolerate milk (i.e. cyanotic congenital heart disease BUT kidney disease ok)

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.

United States1 site, 1 recruiting
  • Seattle Children's Hospital

    Seattle, Washington, 98105

    Katie Strobel, MD, 262-623-1987, katie.strobel@seattlechildrens.org

    Leonel Arellano, 915-443-4390, leonel.arellano@seattlechildrens.org

    Recruiting

Other trials in United States

About this study

This study explores the use of an exclusive human milk diet versus standard feeding practices to compare the influence on feeding outcomes and the gut bacteria in infants with intestinal differences.

Being tested
Standard of Care, Exclusive Human Milk
Medical subject headings
Intestinal Obstruction, Gastroschisis, Hirschsprung Disease, Hernia, Umbilical, Volvulus Of Midgut

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Standard of CareDietary supplement

    Standard of care arm: Mothers will consent to providing DHM (if qualifies per hospital policy) or formula if MOM is not available. Infants are only eligible to receive donor milk only if 1) MOM is not available 2) if infant initiates feeds before day 3 of age. The donor milk feed would be stopped on day 5 of age.

  • Exclusive Human MilkDietary supplement

    Mothers will consent to providing DHM if MOM is not available. If the infant reaches 100 ml/kg/day of feeds (one feed advancement prior to full feeds) and MOM remains unavailable, they will transition to formula in preparation for discharge. Infants cannot be discharged on donor milk.

Study groups in NCT06072976
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Exclusive human milkExperimentalMothers will consent to providing DHM if MOM is not available. If the infant reaches 100 ml/kg/day of feeds (one feed advancement prior to full feeds) and MOM remains unavailable, they will transition to formula in preparation for discharge. Infants cannot be discharged on donor milk.
Receives: Dietary Supplement: Exclusive Human Milk
Standard of careExperimentalMothers will consent to providing DHM (if qualifies per hospital policy) or formula if MOM is not available. Infants are only eligible to receive donor milk only if 1) MOM is not available 2) if infant initiates feeds before day 3 of age. The donor milk feed would be stopped on day 5 of age. After day five of age, the infant will receive formula if MOM is not available. This is congruent with the current donor milk policy (see Policy #12785). It is highly unlikely given these infants would receive any donor milk because these infants require surgery and often are waiting return of bowel function . The median age of initiation of feeds is 12 days of age for infants with gastroschisis (PMID: 33647253) which exceeds the days of what the hospital policy says for eligibility which is initiates feed before day 3 of age. If the infant does not qualify for any donor milk and MOM is not available, the infant will receive formula
Receives: Dietary Supplement: Standard of Care

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Time to full feed

    : In infants with congenital gastrointestinal pathologies (gastroschisis, giant omphalocele, atresia, midgut volvulus, Hirschsprung disease, CGP), to determine if use of an exclusive human milk diet will decrease the number of days to full feeding volume (120 ml/kg/day) (29 subjects per power calculation) compared to human milk/formula

    Measured: From birth to 120 days or until discharge

Secondary outcomes (5)
  1. Central line infection rate

    To compare rate of central line infections in infants given exclusive human milk versus infants given standard care.

    Measured: up to 120 days or discharge

  2. Portion of parents own milk at time of discharge

    : To compare proportion of parents providing any/exclusive mother's own milk (MOM) at discharge in infants given exclusive human milk arm versus standard care arm

    Measured: Up to 120 days or discharge

  3. Gut Microbiome Relative Abundance and Diversity

    To examine if utilization of donor milk when mother's own milk is insufficient alters the infant's gut microbiome alpha diversity and beta diversity and bacterial relative abundances

    Measured: Up to 120 days or discharge

  4. Mother's milk microbiome relative abundance and diversity

    To discern how mother's own milk microbiome differs from donor milk microbiome relative abundances and diversity. We will examine how the milk microbiomes influences the infant's gut microbiome and time to full feeds.

    Measured: Up to 120 days or discharge

  5. Concentrations of Antigen-specific immunoglobulins

    To compare total and antigen-specific immunoglobulins in donor milk versus MOM

    Measured: From birth to 120 days or discharge

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted10 Oct 2023
  2. Study start9 Jun 2023
  3. Primary completion9 Jun 2027 (estimated)
  4. Study completion9 Jun 2027 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Supportive care
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
116 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT06072976
Sponsor's protocol ID
STUDY00004330: CGP Milk
Status last verified
Apr 2026
First submitted
8 Aug 2023
Last updated
30 Apr 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No

Publications

  • Varma S, Bartlett EL, Nam L, Shores DR. Use of Breast Milk and Other Feeding Practices Following Gastrointestinal Surgery in Infants. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2019 Feb;68(2):264-271. doi: 10.1097/MPG.0000000000002128.

    PubMed 30119100
  • Hoban R, Khatri S, Patel A, Unger SL. Supplementation of Mother's Own Milk with Donor Milk in Infants with Gastroschisis or Intestinal Atresia: A Retrospective Study. Nutrients. 2020 Feb 24;12(2):589. doi: 10.3390/nu12020589.

    PubMed 32102333
  • Bergner EM, Shypailo R, Visuthranukul C, Hagan J, O'Donnell AR, Hawthorne KM, Abrams SA, Hair AB. Growth, Body Composition, and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at 2 Years Among Preterm Infants Fed an Exclusive Human Milk Diet in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Pilot Study. Breastfeed Med. 2020 May;15(5):304-311. doi: 10.1089/bfm.2019.0210. Epub 2020 Apr 16.

    PubMed 32298596
  • Hair AB, Rechtman DJ, Lee ML, Niklas V. Beyond Necrotizing Enterocolitis: Other Clinical Advantages of an Exclusive Human Milk Diet. Breastfeed Med. 2018 Jul/Aug;13(6):408-411. doi: 10.1089/bfm.2017.0192. Epub 2018 Jun 7.

    PubMed 29877722
  • Murthy S, Parker PR, Gross SJ. Low rate of necrotizing enterocolitis in extremely low birth weight infants using a hospital-based preterm milk bank. J Perinatol. 2019 Jan;39(1):108-114. doi: 10.1038/s41372-018-0235-3. Epub 2018 Oct 5.

    PubMed 30291318
  • Fleig L, Hagan J, Lee ML, Abrams SA, Hawthorne KM, Hair AB. Growth outcomes of small for gestational age preterm infants before and after implementation of an exclusive human milk-based diet. J Perinatol. 2021 Aug;41(8):1859-1864. doi: 10.1038/s41372-021-01082-x. Epub 2021 May 19.

    PubMed 34012050
  • Hair AB, Good M. Dilemmas in feeding infants with intestinal failure: a neonatologist's perspective. J Perinatol. 2023 Jan;43(1):114-119. doi: 10.1038/s41372-022-01504-4. Epub 2022 Sep 20.

    PubMed 36127395
  • Strobel KM, Kramer K, Rottkamp CA, Uy C, Moyer L, Fernandez E, Elashoff D, Sabnis A, and Calkins KL. Implementation of a Nutritional Pathway Across California Hospitals Improves Linear Growth in Neonates with Gastroschisis: A University of California Fetal Consortium Study. Pediatric Academic Societies, 4/22/2022, Denver, CO.

  • Hodgson EC, Livingston MH, Robinson T, Farrokhyar F, Walton JM. Use of breast milk in infants with uncomplicated gastroschisis: A retrospective cohort study. J Pediatr Surg. 2022 May;57(5):840-845. doi: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2021.12.045. Epub 2022 Jan 13.

    PubMed 35058060
  • Spatz DL, Robinson AC, Froh EB. Cost and Use of Pasteurized Donor Human Milk at a Children's Hospital. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2018 Jul;47(4):583-588. doi: 10.1016/j.jogn.2017.11.004. Epub 2017 Dec 6.

    PubMed 29221672
  • Kumbhare SV, Jones WD, Fast S, Bonner C, Jong G', Van Domselaar G, Graham M, Narvey M, Azad MB. Source of human milk (mother or donor) is more important than fortifier type (human or bovine) in shaping the preterm infant microbiome. Cell Rep Med. 2022 Sep 20;3(9):100712. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100712. Epub 2022 Aug 26.

    PubMed 36029771
  • Demers-Mathieu V, Huston RK, Markell AM, McCulley EA, Martin RL, Spooner M, Dallas DC. Differences in Maternal Immunoglobulins within Mother's Own Breast Milk and Donor Breast Milk and across Digestion in Preterm Infants. Nutrients. 2019 Apr 24;11(4):920. doi: 10.3390/nu11040920.

    PubMed 31022910

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Exclusive Human Milk in people with Gastrointestinal Complication and Intestinal Obstruction, run by Seattle Children's Hospital at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 6 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 30 Apr 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

Contact Leonel Arellano (915-443-4390, leonel.arellano@seattlechildrens.org), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Time to full feed (time frame: From birth to 120 days or until discharge). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT06072976, which also lists 12 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 30 Apr 2026.

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