Critically ill patients in intensive care units (ICU) are at high risk of becoming malnourished because they cannot eat, and this can greatly affect their recovery.
Tube feeding, or enteral feeding, provides patients with important nutrition, such as energy and protein, and has been shown to improve recovery. It is recommended that ICU patients should commence enteral feeding within 24-48 hours of admission. However, there is no agreed recommendation for how much energy and protein to give them. In addition, enteral feeding can be interrupted, for example if a patient has diarrhoea or has to fast for procedures, which can further decrease the amount of energy and protein they receive and increase malnutrition risk.
This study has three aims. Firstly, using the ICU database, we will examine all patients that were admitted to ICU in the last year and determine what enteral feeding they received. We will look at how long it took to start enteral feeding, how much energy and protein they received daily, and whether this met their nutritional requirements. Secondly, we will identify the barriers to starting patients on enteral feeding within 24-48 hours and delivering adequate enteral feeding. Thirdly, we will record outcomes such as weight change and length of time in ICU.
The findings will help us understand current enteral feeding practices in ICU and identify areas for improvement. The findings will be shared with national expert groups to help develop guidelines to ensure all ICU patients receive the best nutritional support for recovery.
