Estimating the time point for nutritional failure in patients suffering from acute brain attacks in the intensive care unit

Background: Severe brain attack patients demonstrate hypermetabolic state and gastrointestinal dysfunction, leading to faster onset of nutritional failure. Aim: To estimate the time point where the development of nutritional failure is more probable among patients with acute brain attacks in the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: Direct bedside observation for selected nutritional parameters was performed. When enteral nutrition was initiated, observation was performed at five points over 9 days. Findings: 84 patients with 55% mortality risk and on mechanical ventilation were included. Over the observation period, gastric residual volume increased (144 ml vs 196 ml), body weight decreased (79.4 kg vs 74.3 kg), and serum albumin reduced (3.6 g/dl to 3.1 g/dl). Caloric attainment and malnutrition score deteriorated, and feeding-related complications increased. Nutritional failure was evidently prevalent between the third and fifth day of observation. Conclusion: An earlier period of enteral nutrition entails higher probability of nutritional failure among severe brain attack patients in the ICU.

Preventive Strategies for Feeding Intolerance in Patients with Severe Traumatic Brain Injury in China: An Online Cross-Sectional Survey

Background The application of preventive strategies for feeding intolerance in severe traumatic brain injury (STBI) patients is discrepant among different hospitals. We aim to investigate the application status of preventive measures of feeding intolerance in China. Method A cross-sectional study was carried out among 996 clinicians and nurses working in intensive care units of 89 hospitals in China (response rate of 89.81%). Data were collected by means of an online survey. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze respondents’ characteristics and questionnaire responses. Results Clinicians and nurses usually applied several methods simultaneously to assess gastrointestinal functions and risk of feeding intolerance among STBI patients, including assessment scales, gastrointestinal symptoms, etc. Furthermore, initiating enteral nutrition (EN) within 24-48 hours (61.45%), < 500 ml initial volume of EN solution (50.00%), using non-nutritional preparations as initial EN formula (65.56%), nasogastric tube EN (91.16%), continuous feeding by pump (72.89%), 30°-45° of head-of-bed elevation during EN (89.46%), monitoring gastric residual volume by syringe (93.67%), assessing gastric residual volume every 4 hours (51.51%), EN solution temperature of 38℃-40℃ (65.46%), prokinetic agents (73.29%), enema (73.59%), probiotics (79.01%), and antacid agents (84.13%), were mostly applied strategies in clinical practice for preventing feeding intolerance among STBI patients. Conclusions The data from the survey showed that medical staffs in China are closely concerned with the gastrointestinal functions of STBI patients and EN delivery protocol, and have a positive attitude towards preventive strategies for feeding intolerance. Meanwhile, there are still many points need to be paid attention to and solved, and researchers, clinicians, nurses and dietitians should strengthen the cooperation to explore more valuable preventive strategies for feeding intolerance in STBI patients.

Sonographic Evaluation of Gastric Residual Volume during Enteral Nutrition in Critically Ill Patients Using a Miniaturized Ultrasound Device

Background: To assess the risk of aspiration, nutrient tolerance, and gastric emptying of patients in ICUs, gastric ultrasound can provide information about the gastric contents. Using established formulas, the gastric residual volume (GRV) can be calculated in a standardized way by measuring the gastric antrum. The purpose of this study was to determine the GRV in a cohort of enterally fed patients using a miniaturized ultrasound device to achieve knowledge about feasibility and the GRV over time during the ICU stay. The findings could contribute to the optimization of enteral nutrition (EN) therapy. Methods: A total of 217 ultrasound examinations with 3 measurements each (651 measurements in total) were performed twice daily (morning and evening) in a longitudinal observational study on 18 patients with EN in the interdisciplinary surgical ICU of Saarland University Medical Center. The measured values of the GRV were analyzed in relation to the clinical course, the nutrition, and other parameters. Results: Measurements could be performed without interrupting the flow of clinical care and without pausing EN. The GRV was significantly larger with sparsely auscultated bowel sounds than with normal and excited bowel sounds (p < 0.01). Furthermore, a significantly larger GRV was present when using a high-caloric/low-protein nutritional product compared to an isocaloric product (p = 0.02). The GRV at the morning and evening measurements showed no circadian rhythm. When comparing the first and last ultrasound examination of each patient, there was a tendency towards an increased GRV (p = 0.07). Conclusion: The GRV measured by miniaturized ultrasound devices can provide important information about ICU patients without restricting treatment procedures in the ICU. Measurements are possible while EN therapy is ongoing. Further studies are needed to establish gastric ultrasound as a management tool in nutrition therapy.

Comparison of Gastric Residual Volume and pH between Single and Split-Dose Bowel Preparation in Patients Undergoing Esophago-Gastro-Duodenoscopy and Colonoscopy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Colonoscopy is an effective surveillance for the diagnosis and screening of colorectal cancer (CRC). Prior to the procedure, people would take laxatives for a good visualization of bowel texture. Although a split-dose bowel preparation has become popular, many anesthesiologists are concerned about pulmonary aspiration. Objective: To study the gastric residual volume and pH in patients taking split-dose bowel preparation as compared to those having laxatives on the day before the procedure. Materials and Methods: One hundred patients were randomized equally into two groups, as A for a single-dose, and B for a split-dose regimen. All patients underwent endoscopy under standard anesthetic care. The total gastric residual volume was suctioned, and pH was measured through the endoscope. The surgical team was unaware of the study protocol. The quality of bowel cleansing was assessed by the endoscopist using the Boston Bowel Preparation Scale (BBPS). Results: The bowel cleansing, the latency period, the endoscopist and patients’ satisfaction of single-and split-dose group were 7.06±1.4 and 8.14±1.1, 13.3±1.1 and 4.2±0.4 hours, 62.0% and 94.0%, and 90.0% and 74.0%, respectively. They all showed statistically significant differences between the two groups (p<0.05). Conclusion: The gastric residual volume and pH were not different between the split and single-dose preparations. Therefore, it might not increase the risk of aspiration pneumonitis. However, the split-dose technique was more effective in colon cleansing, patients’ tolerability, acceptability, and compliance than the preparations administered entirely the day or evening before the surgical procedure. Keywords: Gastro-colonoscopy; Single-dose bowel preparation; Split-dose bowel preparation; Gastric residual volume; Anesthesia

Comparing the Effect of Neostigmine and Metoclopramide on Gastric Residual Volume of Mechanically Ventilated Patients in Intensive Care Unit: A Double-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial

Introduction. The gastric residual volume (GRV) monitoring in patients with mechanical ventilation (MV) is a common and important challenge. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of neostigmine and metoclopramide on GRV among MV patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods. In a double-blind randomized clinical trial, a total of 200 mechanically ventilated ICU patients with GRV > 120 ml (6 hours after the last gavage) were randomly assigned into two groups (A and B) with 100 patients in each group. Patients in groups A and B received intravenous infusion of neostigmine at a dose of 2.5 mg/100 ml normal saline and metoclopramide at a dose of 10 mg/100 ml normal saline, within 30 minutes, respectively. GRV was evaluated 5 times for each patient, once before the intervention and 4 times (at 3, 6, 9, and 12 hours) after the intervention. In addition, demographic characteristics including age and gender, as well as severity illness based on the sequential organ failure assessment score (SOFA), were initially recorded for all patients. Results. After adjusting of demographic and clinical characteristics (age, gender, and SOFA score), the generalized estimating equation (GEE) model revealed that neostigmine treatment increased odds of GRV improvement compared to the metoclopramide group ( OR = 2.45 , 95% CI: 1.60-3.76, P < 0.001 ). However, there is a statistically significant time trend (within-subject differences or time effect) regardless of treatment groups ( P < 0.001 ). Conclusion. According to the results, although neostigmine treatment significantly improved GRV in more patients in less time, within 12 hours of treatment, all patients in both groups had complete recovery. Considering that there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of side effects, it seems that both drugs are effective in improving the GRV of ICU patients.