Volume-Based Protocol Improves Delivery of Enteral Nutrition in Critically Ill Trauma Patients

Background: Critically ill patients on enteral nutrition (EN) often do not receive goal nutrition support. Factors impeding delivery of EN include interruption for procedures, tube dislodgement, and high gastric residuals. A volume-based feeding protocol (VP) is designed to adjust the infusion rate to compensate for interruptions. We hypothesize that implementation of a VP would increase delivery of EN over the conventional hourly rate method (CM).

Methods: This study compared patients on CM to those on VP. The primary outcome measured was percentage of goal EN delivered during the entire intensive care unit (ICU) stay. Inclusion criteria for the study consisted of patients aged >18 years, traumatic mechanism of injury and admission to the ICU >72 hours, hemodynamic stability to receive EN per the trauma ICU standard of practice, and EN via nasogastric or post-pyloric feeding tube.

Results: We evaluated 227 patients over a 20-month period. Seventy-nine patients in the VP group were compared with the control group of 148 patients. Patients on VP received a significantly higher percentage of goal EN than those on CM (73.3% vs 65%, P = .0002). There was no difference in the incidence of diarrhea (CM 4.16% vs VP 5.19%; P = .29) or tube dislodgment (CM 2.04% vs VP 1.61%; P = .51).

Conclusion: Implementation of a VP significantly increased delivery of EN by 8.3% over that given by the CM in critically ill trauma patients with no difference in feeding-related complications.