Aust Crit Care
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Incidence of aspiration and gastrointestinal complications in critically ill patients using continuous versus bolus infusion of enteral nutrition: a pseudo-randomised controlled trial.
Enteral nutrition (EN) for the critically ill and mechanically ventilated patients can be administered either via the continuous or bolus methods. However, there is insufficient evidence supporting which of these methods may have a lower risk of aspiration and gastrointestinal (GI) complications. This study was conducted in order to identify the incidence of aspiration and GI complications using continuous enteral nutrition (CEN) and bolus enteral nutrition (BEN) in critically ill patients at the Rafik Hariri University Hospital (RHUH), Beirut, Lebanon. ⋯ CEN versus BEN methods did not affect the incidence of aspiration, HGRV, vomiting or diarrhoea. However, the incidence of constipation was significantly greater in patients receiving CEN.