The Effect of two Schedules of Intermittent Enteral Feeding on the Development of Gastric Colonization

Abstract

Nutritional support is an important aspect of the care of traumatized patients and it can result in improving wound healing, decreasing catabolic response to injury, enhancing immune system function, improving gastrointestinal structure and function, and improving clinical outcomes. However, many complications are associated with enteral feeding including gastric colonization. Routine enteral feeding schedule is not allowing time to acidify stomach with gastric pH. This may predispose the traumatized patients to acquire gastric colonization which may predispose to aspiration pneumonia. Aim: this study was carried out to investigate the effect of two schedules of intermittent enteral feeding on the development of gastric colonization Design: a quasi-experimental design. Setting: trauma ICU at Assiut University Hospitals, Egypt. Patients: A convenience sample of 80 adults' traumatized patients on enteral feeding constituted the study sample. The patients were assigned into two equal groups (group 1 and group 2, 40 patients each). Methods: The only manipulation was in the rest period and time interval in which the group 1 patients were rested 8hours at night as compared to 6hours for the group 2 ones, as well group 1 patients were having 4hours time interval between each two consecutive feeding as compared to 2hours for group 2 patients. Results: ninety percent of group 2 patients developed gastric colonization as compared to 40% of the group 1 patients with a highly significant statistical difference between both groups in this regard (p= 0.000).Conclusion: intermittent 4-hour interval enteral feeding schedule inhibit the development of gastric colonization.

Keywords: intermittent enteral feeding, gastric colonization.