Bolus Versus Continuous Enteral Tube Feeding

Bolus Versus Continuous Enteral Feeding in Critically Ill Patients

Stress metabolisms induced by severe trauma, large abdominal surgery procedures, sepsis, etc. leads to metabolic changes, which increase energy expenditure, enhanced protein catabolism, insulin resistance. Muscle proteolysis is massively stimulated. Critically ill patients pay for survival with a loss of muscles. Enteral nutrition, especially protein delivery to critically ill, is very important for optimizing their outcome. Standard enteral feeding regiments are generally based on continuous feeding, which is thought to be better tolerated by critically ill patients with easier glycaemic control by continuous infusion of insulin, translated in less glycaemic variability. But this approach is not physiological, continuous feeding does not allow protein synthesis. Optimal protein synthesis requires a pulsatile increase in branched-chain amino acids. Bolus feeding activates the entrohormonal axis (bioactive peptides, insulin), and stimulates skeletal muscle synthesis to the maximum extent. The question is, whether bolus enteral feeding in critically ill patients with limited gastrointestinal function delivers a greater amount of protein, improves nutritional parameters, with higher quadriceps muscle layer thickness (QMLT) and muscle strength.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Sepsis; Trauma Injury; Major Abdominal Surgery
• Intervention / Treatment: Diagnostic test: Quadriceps Muscle Layer Fitness; Diagnostic test: Muscle Strength; Diagnostic test: Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation; Diagnostic test: Sequential Organ Failure Assessment; Diagnostic test: Nutritional Risk Screening; Diagnostic test: Energy and Protein Intake

Detailed Description

The trial has been designed in accordance with the Recommendations for Interventional Trials (SPIRIT 2013) and the Consolidated Standards for Reporting of Trials CONSORT guidelines.

Patients who meet the study inclusion criteria (severe trauma patients, surgical patients and medical patients with sepsis, with inserted nasogastric/nasoduodenal feed-ing tube) will be eligible to participate, especially patients who are mechanically ventilated. The last criterion is not a necessary precondition (a module of indirect calorimetry will be used in these patients). The necessary condition is the elimination of shock within 24 hours from the ICU admission and tolerance of trophic enteral feed-ing (20ml/hour) at for the period of at least 24 hours. Patients will be randomized in a ratio of 1:1 within 72 hours of their admission to receive bolus or continuous enteral feeding (sealed envelopes method). In both groups, the same goals of energy and protein will be observed (Day 1-2: E 15 kcal/kg/day, protein 0.8-1 g/kg/day; Day 3-4: E 20 kcal/kg/day, protein 1. 2 g/kg/day; Day ≥ 5: E 25 kcal/kg/day, protein 1.5-2 g/kg/day), according to protocol. The bolus enteral group will receive the amount of enteral nutrition in six boluses (per 60min dose), the continuous enteral group will receive the amount using a pump, within the timeframe of 6am-24pm. The need for parenteral nutrition will be determined by treating clinical staff independently to group allocation.

Demographic data collection: (weight, high, BMI) and conditions (trauma, surgical, medical patients), Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA), Nutritional Risk Screening (NRS 2002).

Daily observations: glucose, mean glucose changes, insulin (IU/d), energy and protein intake (administered calories divided by the calculated energy expenditure and administered protein divided by calculated protein intake) - Adjusted/calculated energy and protein (%). Feeding intolerance (tolerating less than 40% of requirements via the enteral route for ≥ 3 days, diarrhea ≥ 500ml per day or five bowel actions). Mechanically ventilated patients (Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) and Respiratory Quotient (RQ) measured with indirect calorimetry) Day 1, 3, 5, 7: Nutritional parameters (serum albumin prealbumin, C-reactive protein (CRP), urine urea, N balance).

Day 1 and 7: Muscle layer thickness (QMLT by ultrasound measurement and mid-upper arm circumference) and muscle strength (dynamometer) from baseline to discharge. Outcomes of muscle strength/ultrasound and dynamometer) will be measured by an investigator blinded to the group allocation.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 60
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Czechia
  • Moravian-Silesian Region
    • Ostrava, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czechia, 70852
      • University Hospital Ostrava

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• polytrauma
• major abdominal surgery
• sepsis
• ICU stay
• enteral feeding tube
• artificial ventilation

Exclusion Criteria:

• contraindication of enteral feeding
• infaust prognosis
• prolonged shock (more than 24 hours)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Bolus enteral feeding; The patients randomized into this study arm will receive bolus enteral feeding. The study subjects will undergo the following interventions: Quadriceps Muscle Layer Fitness measurement; Muscle Strength measurement; Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation; Sequential Organ Failure Assessment; Nutritional Risk Screening; Energy and Protein Intake	Diagnostic test: Quadriceps Muscle Layer Fitness; The QMLF examination will be performed in all study subjects, with both bolus and continuous enteral feeding.; Other Names: QMLF; Diagnostic test: Muscle Strength; All study subjects, with both bolus and continuous enteral feeding, will undergo measurement of the muscle strength using dynamometer.; Diagnostic test: Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation; All study subjects, with both bolus and continuous enteral feeding, will undergo the APACHE evaluation.; Other Names: APACHE; Diagnostic test: Sequential Organ Failure Assessment; All study subjects, with both bolus and continuous enteral feeding, will undergo the SOFA assessment.; Other Names: SOFA; Diagnostic test: Nutritional Risk Screening; All study subjects, with both bolus and continuous enteral feeding, will undergo the NSR screening.; Other Names: NSR; Diagnostic test: Energy and Protein Intake; The amount of energy and protein supplied to the study subjects will be observed daily in all study subjects, with both bolus and continuous enteral feeding, the percentage of the planned daily intake will be analyzed.
Experimental: Continuous enteral feeding; The patients randomized into this study arm will receive bolus enteral feeding. The study subjects will undergo the following interventions: Quadriceps Muscle Layer Fitness measurement; Muscle Strength measurement; Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation; Sequential Organ Failure Assessment; Nutritional Risk Screening; Energy and Protein Intake	Diagnostic test: Quadriceps Muscle Layer Fitness; The QMLF examination will be performed in all study subjects, with both bolus and continuous enteral feeding.; Other Names: QMLF; Diagnostic test: Muscle Strength; All study subjects, with both bolus and continuous enteral feeding, will undergo measurement of the muscle strength using dynamometer.; Diagnostic test: Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation; All study subjects, with both bolus and continuous enteral feeding, will undergo the APACHE evaluation.; Other Names: APACHE; Diagnostic test: Sequential Organ Failure Assessment; All study subjects, with both bolus and continuous enteral feeding, will undergo the SOFA assessment.; Other Names: SOFA; Diagnostic test: Nutritional Risk Screening; All study subjects, with both bolus and continuous enteral feeding, will undergo the NSR screening.; Other Names: NSR; Diagnostic test: Energy and Protein Intake; The amount of energy and protein supplied to the study subjects will be observed daily in all study subjects, with both bolus and continuous enteral feeding, the percentage of the planned daily intake will be analyzed.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in nutritional parameters - serum albumin	The development of the serum albumin levels in g/dL will be observed.	7 days
Change in nutritional parameters - prealbumin	The development of the serum albumin levels in mg/dL will be observed.	7 days
Change in inflammatory parameters - C-reactive protein (CRP)	The development of inflammatory parameters in mg/L will be observed.	7 days
Change in muscle mass	The development of muscle mass (circumference in centimetres) will be measured.	7 days
Change in muscle strength	The development of muscle strength (in kilograms) will be measured.	7 days

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University Hospital Ostrava
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Marcela Káňová, MD,PhD, University Hospital Ostrava

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Tillquist M, Kutsogiannis DJ, Wischmeyer PE, Kummerlen C, Leung R, Stollery D, Karvellas CJ, Preiser JC, Bird N, Kozar R, Heyland DK. Bedside ultrasound is a practical and reliable measurement tool for assessing quadriceps muscle layer thickness. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2014 Sep;38(7):886-90. doi: 10.1177/0148607113501327. Epub 2013 Aug 26.
• Schulz KF, Altman DG, Moher D; CONSORT Group. CONSORT 2010 statement: updated guidelines for reporting parallel group randomised trials. Int J Surg. 2011;9(8):672-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ijsu.2011.09.004. Epub 2011 Oct 13. No abstract available.
• Chan AW, Tetzlaff JM, Gotzsche PC, Altman DG, Mann H, Berlin JA, Dickersin K, Hrobjartsson A, Schulz KF, Parulekar WR, Krleza-Jeric K, Laupacis A, Moher D. SPIRIT 2013 explanation and elaboration: guidance for protocols of clinical trials. BMJ. 2013 Jan 8;346:e7586. doi: 10.1136/bmj.e7586.
• Fetterplace K, Deane AM, Tierney A, Beach L, Knight LD, Rechnitzer T, Forsyth A, Mourtzakis M, Presneill J, MacIsaac C. Targeted full energy and protein delivery in critically ill patients: a study protocol for a pilot randomised control trial (FEED Trial). Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2018 Feb 20;4:52. doi: 10.1186/s40814-018-0249-9. eCollection 2018.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 1, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 30, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): December 31, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 3, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 3, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): September 6, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): December 7, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 6, 2022
• Last Verified: December 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: bolus enteral feeding; continuous enteral feeding; protein synthesis; nutritional parameters
• Other Study ID Numbers: FNO-KARIM-12-Enteral_Feeding

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: No
• IPD Plan Description: There is no plan to make individual participant data available to other researchers.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No