FACTORS AFFECTİNG ENTERAL FEEDİNG INTOLERANCE İN INTENSİVE CARE UNİT PATİENTS (EFI-ICU)

August 20, 2026 updated by: Eda Cirit Bardakçi

FACTORS AFFECTİNG ENTERAL FEEDİNG INTOLERANCE İN INTENSİVE CARE UNİT PATİENTS: A PROSPECTİVE OBSERVATİONAL STUDY

Enteral nutrition is the first-line nutritional support method in critically ill patients because it helps preserve gastrointestinal system integrity, reduce the risk of infection, and meet metabolic requirements. However, gastrointestinal motility is frequently impaired in critically ill patients due to physiological stress, hemodynamic instability, sedative and vasopressor medications, mechanical ventilation, and underlying diseases. This may result in enteral feeding intolerance (EFI), which complicates nutritional management.

This prospective observational study aims to determine the demographic, clinical, laboratory, and treatment-related factors associated with enteral feeding intolerance in adult intensive care unit patients and to evaluate the association between enteral feeding intolerance and morbidity and mortality.

Adult patients who are started on enteral nutrition in the Anesthesiology and Reanimation Intensive Care Unit will be prospectively followed. No additional intervention will be performed. Patients will be monitored according to routine intensive care and enteral nutrition protocols. Enteral feeding intolerance and potentially associated factors will be recorded prospectively.

The study is planned to include 102 patients.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

Enteral nutrition is an important component of nutritional support in critically ill patients. However, enteral feeding intolerance is frequently observed in intensive care units and may result from impaired gastrointestinal motility associated with critical illness, hemodynamic instability, sedative and vasopressor use, mechanical ventilation, and underlying diseases.

In this study, demographic, clinical, laboratory, physiological, nutritional, and treatment-related variables that may affect the development of enteral feeding intolerance will be evaluated prospectively.

All adult patients admitted to the intensive care unit who are planned to receive enteral nutrition will be screened daily. Patients meeting the eligibility criteria will be enrolled after informed consent has been obtained from the patient or legally authorized representative.

Because this is an observational study, there will be no randomization and no investigator-assigned intervention. Patients will be classified according to their natural clinical course into an enteral feeding intolerance group and a non-enteral feeding intolerance group.

Demographic characteristics, admission diagnosis, APACHE II, SOFA, and Glasgow Coma Scale scores will be recorded. Daily clinical variables including bowel sounds, presence of stool, sedation, opioid use, vasopressor requirement, sepsis, and aspiration pneumonia will also be recorded.

Routine laboratory parameters including total protein, albumin, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, lactate, hemoglobin, leukocyte count, and lymphocyte count will be obtained from the hospital electronic medical record twice weekly according to routine clinical practice.

The modified Nutrition Risk in Critically Ill (mNUTRIC) score and Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI) will be calculated. Mechanical ventilation characteristics, enteral nutrition initiation time, formula type, daily energy and protein targets, delivered amounts, and interruptions of enteral nutrition will be recorded.

Enteral feeding intolerance will be assessed according to predefined criteria and international recommendations. The following findings will be considered enteral feeding intolerance: vomiting, a single gastric residual volume greater than 250 mL, a 24-hour gastric residual volume greater than 500 mL, abdominal distension, and suspected aspiration.

Gastric residual volume will be measured by intensive care nurses using a 50-mL syringe according to the standard intensive care unit protocol.

Intra-abdominal pressure will be measured twice weekly as part of routine intensive care practice using the Foley bladder pressure measurement technique.

All study data will be obtained from routine clinical records, laboratory results, enteral nutrition monitoring charts, ventilator records, and the hospital electronic medical record. No additional invasive procedure, imaging study, surgical procedure, or other intervention will be performed for research purposes.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

102

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

  • Name: Eda Cirit Bardakci, Medical Doctor
  • Phone Number: +90 541 308 9295
  • Email: edacrt@gmail.com

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

The study population will consist of adult patients aged 18 years or older who are admitted to the Anesthesiology and Reanimation Intensive Care Unit of Ankara Atatürk Sanatoryum Training and Research Hospital and who are started on enteral nutrition.

Patients will be prospectively screened and consecutively enrolled if they meet all inclusion criteria and none of the exclusion criteria.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age ≥18 years
  • Admission to the Anesthesia Intensive Care Unit
  • Enteral nutrition planned or initiated during intensive care unit admission
  • Expected to require enteral nutrition during intensive care unit follow-up
  • Availability of sufficient clinical and nutritional data for study evaluation
  • Patient or legally authorized representative provides informed consent when required by the ethics protocol

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Age <18 years
  • Patients receiving only parenteral nutrition
  • Patients in whom enteral nutrition is contraindicated throughout the observation period
  • Patients with insufficient data for evaluation of enteral feeding tolerance
  • Patients transferred to another intensive care unit before adequate study assessment
  • Patients who decline participation or whose legally authorized representative declines participation when consent is required

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Occurrence of Enteral Feeding Intolerance
Time Frame: 7 days
Enteral feeding intolerance will be defined by the presence of at least one predefined clinical criterion: vomiting, a single gastric residual volume greater than 250 mL, 24-hour cumulative gastric residual volume greater than 500 mL, abdominal distension, or clinical suspicion of aspiration related to enteral feeding.
7 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Achievement of Energy Target
Time Frame: 3 days
The proportion of prescribed or calculated daily energy target actually delivered through enteral nutrition. Achievement of ≥70-80% of the calculated daily energy target will be considered adequate.
3 days

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

August 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

September 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

September 15, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 12, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 20, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

August 21, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 21, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 20, 2026

Last Verified

August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2024-BCEK/483

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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