Evaluation of the Effect of Flow Rate on Swallowing Function in Young Infants

June 9, 2021 updated by: Stephanie DiPerna, Boston Children's Hospital
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of nipple flow rate on swallowing function in infants less than 3 months corrected age (up to 11 weeks and 6 days) who have been referred for videofluoroscopic swallow study.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Withdrawn

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Feeding difficulties are common in infants born premature and with medical complexity, particularly those with congenital heart disease. One of the most common strategies for managing feeding difficulties is changing the milk flow rate of the bottle nipple. Milk flow is the rate at which milk transfers from the bottle to the infant's mouth. During swallowing, the vocal folds must close to prevent aspiration of fluid into the airway. When milk flow is fast, the infant must swallow frequently to clear the bolus of fluid and prevent aspiration; this is done at the expense of respiration. When the milk flow rate is slowed, the infant can swallow less frequently, allowing better integration of respiration, and has more time to coordinate an effective swallow. While there is some very limited evidence that slower milk flow rate improves feeding in infants born premature and with congenital heart disease, the underlying mechanisms for improvement of feeding remain unknown. This project will be the first to evaluate the effect of milk flow rate on swallowing function under fluoroscopy to better understanding how swallowing changes under different conditions of flow in young infants. This research will provide the evidence needed to support the use of this simple intervention (i.e., changing the flow rate) in infants at risk for feeding difficulty and swallowing dysfunction.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

12 hours to 3 months (CHILD)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Infants less than 3 months corrected age (up to 11 weeks and 6 days) who have been referred for video fluoroscopic swallow study.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Infant less than 3 months corrected age
  • Must be referred for video fluoroscopic swallow study (VFSS) at Boston Children's Hospital

Exclusion Criteria:

- Infant unsafe to trial all study conditions as determined by clinician(s) conducting the VFSS.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Infants referred for swallow study

This is a within-subjects intervention study where each infant in the study will receive all three conditions.

The three study conditions are bottle-feeding with 1) Dr. Brown's Ultra-Preemie bottle nipple, 2) Dr. Brown's Preemie bottle nipple, and 3) Dr. Brown's Level 1 bottle nipple.
Other: Three study conditions
Continuous fluoroscopy (at 30 frames/second) will be used for intermittent periods to capture 10 swallows in the initial sucking sequence of each of three study conditions: 1) Dr. Brown's Ultra-Preemie bottle nipple, 2) Dr. Brown's Preemie bottle nipple, and 3) Dr. Brown's Level 1 bottle nipple.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
VFSS - number of sucks per swallow
Time Frame: Through completion of 10 swallows under each study condition, maximum of 1 minute per study condition.
Number of sucks per swallow for each of 10 swallows under each of the three study conditions.
Through completion of 10 swallows under each study condition, maximum of 1 minute per study condition.
VFSS - oral bolus control
Time Frame: Through completion of 10 swallows under each study condition, maximum of 1 minute per study condition.
Oral bolus control for each of 10 swallows under each of the three study conditions.
Through completion of 10 swallows under each study condition, maximum of 1 minute per study condition.
VFSS - location of swallow onset
Time Frame: Through completion of 10 swallows under each study condition, maximum of 1 minute per study condition.
Location of swallow onset for each of 10 swallows under each of the three study conditions.
Through completion of 10 swallows under each study condition, maximum of 1 minute per study condition.
VFSS - presence of pharyngonasal regurgitation
Time Frame: Through completion of 10 swallows under each study condition, maximum of 1 minute per study condition.
Presence of pharyngonasal regurgitation for each of 10 swallows under each of the three study conditions.
Through completion of 10 swallows under each study condition, maximum of 1 minute per study condition.
VFSS - presence of laryngeal penetration
Time Frame: Through completion of 10 swallows under each study condition, maximum of 1 minute per study condition.
Presence of laryngeal penetration for each of 10 swallows under each of the three study conditions.
Through completion of 10 swallows under each study condition, maximum of 1 minute per study condition.
VFSS - presence of aspiration (silent or non-silent)
Time Frame: Through completion of 10 swallows under each study condition, maximum of 1 minute per study condition.
Presence of aspiration (silent or non-silent) for each of 10 swallows under each of the three study conditions.
Through completion of 10 swallows under each study condition, maximum of 1 minute per study condition.
VFSS - presence of post-swallow residue
Time Frame: Through completion of 10 swallows under each study condition, maximum of 1 minute per study condition.
Presence of post-swallow residue for each of 10 swallows under each of the three study conditions.
Through completion of 10 swallows under each study condition, maximum of 1 minute per study condition.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Boston Children's Hospital

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Stephanie A DiPerna, MD, Boston Children's Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (ACTUAL)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
February 1, 2018

Primary Completion (ACTUAL)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
January 30, 2019

Study Completion (ACTUAL)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
January 30, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
February 6, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 26, 2019

First Posted (ACTUAL)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 27, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ACTUAL)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 11, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 9, 2021

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
June 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • IRB-P00028852

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

De-identified individual participant data will be made available in a secure Database.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Data will be made available 2 years after study completion.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Data access requests will be reviewed by the research team.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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