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Observational Study
. 2025 Jan 15;17(2):301.
doi: 10.3390/nu17020301.

An Assessment of Intermittent and Continuous Enteral Feeding in Critically Ill Children

Merve Misirlioglu  1 , Dincer Yildizdas  2 , Faruk Ekinci  2 , Nihal Akcay  3 , Ilyas Bingol  3 , Ebru Sahin  4 , Fatih Varol  4 , Muhterem Duyu  5 , Ayse Asik  5 , Fatih Durak  6 , Leyla Atman  6 , Suleyman Bayraktar  7 , Mehmet Alakaya  1 , Ali Ertug Arslankoylu  1 , Gurkan Bozan  8 , Eylem Kiral  8 , Ozden Ozgur Horoz  2 , Hasan Ali Telefon  2 , Abdullah Akkus  9 , Abdullah Yazar  9 , Ozlem Sandal  10 , Hasan Agin  10 , Alper Koker  11 , Nazan Ulgen Tekerek  11 , Nurettin Onur Kutlu  12 , Mehmet Arda Kilinc  12 , Ali Korulmaz  13 , Hatice Feray Ari  14 , Mutlu Uysal Yazici  15 , Esra Sevketoglu  12 , Mehmet Emin Menentoglu  16 , Ebru Kacmaz  17 , Mehmet Nur Talay  18 , Ozhan Orhan  18 , Berna Egehan Oruncu  19 , Selman Kesici  19 , Caglar Odek  20 , Didar Arslan  20 , Pinar Hepduman  21 , Gultac Evren  22 , Hatice Elif Kinik Kaya  23 , Nazik Yener  23 , Emrah Gun  24 , Ilkem Gardiyanoglu  24 , Muhammed Udurgucu  25 , Sinan Yavuz  26 , Ali Avci  26 , Murat Ozkale  27 , Yasemin Ozkale  27 , Damla Pinar Yavas Kocaoglu  28 , Sahin Sincar  28 , Yasemin Coban  29
Affiliations
Observational Study

An Assessment of Intermittent and Continuous Enteral Feeding in Critically Ill Children

Merve Misirlioglu et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Background: The inability to ensure adequate nutrition for patients, and failure to provide adequate calorie and protein intake, result in malnutrition, leading to increased morbidity and mortality. The present study assesses the two approaches to enteral nutrition-intermittent and continuous enteral feeding-in critically ill pediatric patients in Türkiye to determine the superiority of one method over the other.

Methods: Included in this multicenter prospective study were patients receiving enteral nutrition via a tube who were followed up over a 3-month period. Anthropometric data, calorie and protein intake, and signs of feeding intolerance were evaluated in a comparison of the different feeding methods.

Results: A total of 510 patients were examined. In the continuous enteral feeding (CEF) group, 20.2% of patients developed metabolic abnormalities, and 49.5% experienced enteral nutrition intolerance, both of which were higher than in the intermittent enteral feeding (IEF) group, and the differences were statistically significant. No significant differences were observed between the two feeding methods in terms of reaching the target calorie intake on days 2 and 7 (p > 0.05). On day 7, there were significant differences between the two feeding methods in terms of calorie and protein intake (p = 0.023 and 0.014, respectively).

Conclusions: In the present study, assessing the IEF and CEF approaches to enteral nutrition, critically ill pediatric patients receiving intermittent feeding exhibited lower rates of enteral nutrition intolerance and metabolic abnormalities. Furthermore, the calorie and protein intake on day 7 were noted to be higher in the IEF group than in the CEF group. Further randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm the findings of the present study.

Keywords: continuous feeding; enteral nutrition; intermittent feeding; pediatric.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Algorithm used for the determination of the enteral feeding method [4]. GIT: gastrointestinal tract, N/G: nasogastric, O/G: orogastric.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Feeding protocol [4,13,14].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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