Duc Ninh Nguyen

New generation of parenteral nutrition for infected preterm infants

From left to right: Karoline Aasmul-Olsen, Ole Bæk and Duc Ninh Nguyen

Applicant

Duc Ninh Nguyen

Project description

Every year, 15 million infants are born prematurely with underdeveloped immune system and internal organs, making them highly vulnerable to systemic bacterial infection during the first month of life. These infections are difficult to treat, especially in the era of widespread antibiotic resistance. If not well-controlled, infections can lead to life-threatening sepsis with multiple organ failures. Currently, there are no specific nutritional guidelines for newborns during infection episodes to effectively prevent sepsis. We have produced pilot data in infected preterm piglets showing remarkable promise of how proper supply of parenteral nutrition can rewire host metabolism, thereby controlling infection outcomes. In this SPARK Denmark project, we will develop optimal parenteral nutrition strategies for preterm newborns during serious infection to prevent life-threatening sepsis. Our ultimate goal is to enable such new nutritional strategies to be widely implemented in clinical practice.

Institution

University of Copenhagen

SPARK information

Duc and his team were accepted as part of cohort 5.