Guideline · Consensus statement
Preterm Birth International Collaborative Australasia Branch: Expert Consensus on Diagnosis and Treatment of Neonatal Lactose Intolerance (2025).
- Allied health
- Breast milk and breastfeeding
- Enteral feeding
- Families and professional practice
- Family-integrated care
- Medical
- Nursing
- Nutrition and gastrointestinal
Summary
This expert consensus, developed by a multidisciplinary group under the Preterm Birth International Collaborative (Australasia Branch) using GRADE and a modified Delphi process, addresses the diagnosis and management of neonatal lactose intolerance. It describes nonspecific gastrointestinal presentation, stool-based assessment, screening with faecal reducing sugar or urinary galactose tests, and confirmation by elimination testing while excluding mimics. Management prioritises continued breastfeeding with lactase supplementation, lactase or reduced-lactose formulas for formula-fed infants, and probiotics as adjuvant therapy, with individualised treatment duration. It advises against routine lactose-free formula to prevent intolerance in preterm infants and highlights research gaps in preterm and very preterm populations.
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- Licence:
- Open (Creative Commons)
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