Trial of Continuous Versus Interrupted Feeding for Intubated Intensive Care Unit Patients

Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Malnutrition

Treatments: Dietary Supplement: Continuous Tube Feedings

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01383980

00006259

Details and patient eligibility

About

Surgical patients fed up until the point of surgery will have safe delivery of more calories compared to a group whose feeding is held at midnight prior to surgery.

Full description

Nutrition is essential for healing and recovery from illness. Tube feeds are the standard care for patients with prolonged stays in the intensive care unit (ICU) who cannot eat food on their own. Tube feeding means that a tube has been placed in a patient's stomach or small intestine to provide nutrition.

When a patient is scheduled for an elective surgery, he/she usually has nothing to eat after midnight prior to the operation. A fasting period before surgery is done to avoid possible side effects during the placement of a breathing tube. Having an empty stomach is thought to decrease the chances of vomiting or aspiration while a breathing tube is placed. (Aspiration occurs when a substance, such as food provided by a tube feed, enters the airway.) However, some patients already have a breathing tube in place. The investigators do not know which is better for patients who already have a breathing tube in place: continuing feedings up until surgery or stopping them the night before.

The investigators hypothesize intubated surgical patients randomized to a protocol of feeding up until the point of surgery will have the safe delivery of more calories as compared to a group whose feeding is held at midnight prior to surgery.

Enrollment: 36 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Intubated with planned visit to the OR
• Admitted to an ICU at OHSU
• Receiving enteral nutrition or plan to start enteral nutrition

Exclusion criteria

• Age less than 18 years
• Unable to obtain consent from patient or ARR

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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36 participants in 2 patient groups

Control

No Intervention group

Description:

Tube feeds are held night prior to elective surgery (standard of care)

Continuous Feeding

Experimental group

Description:

Tube feeds are continued up until surgery. Subjects with a nasogastric tube will have their stomach contents emptied prior to surgery.

Treatment:

Dietary Supplement: Continuous Tube Feedings