Enteral nutrition interruptions in the intensive care unit: A prospective study

The aim of this study was to provide insight into the causes, frequency, and periods of enteral nutrition interruption (ENI) that occur in the intensive care unit (ICU).This was a prospective, observational cohort study conducted in the ICU. Demographic data, admission and discharge data, mortality, days of intubation, use of prokinetic drugs, initiation time of enteral nutrition, daily calculated targets of calories and protein, actual daily calories and protein delivered, and duration and causes of ENI were recorded and analyzed.In total, 165 patients were assessed for eligibility during the study inclusion period, 61 of whom were included in our study. Mean age was 60.8 ± 14.3 y, and the majority (41, 67.2%) of participants were men. In the first four study days, approximately 20% of participants had at least one episode of ENI, which gradually decreased until the seventh study day. A total of 115 ENIs occurred in our 7-d follow-up period. The most ENIs occurred in the first 3 d of ICU admission. In the first 4 d, there was a significant difference between mean percentage of goal feeding reached in the ENI group versus the group without periods of ENI (P < 0.001).The prevalence of unplanned ENIs in ICU patients is highest in the first 3 d of admission. The main cause of ENIs was diagnostic reasons. The ENIs resulted in an average of approximately 25% of patients failing to meet calculated caloric and protein requirements during the first 4 d of admission.