BACKGROUND AND AIMS: For intensive care unit (ICU) patients fed via a nasogastric (NG) tube, current guidelines recommend continuous feeding through the day and night. Emerging evidence in healthy individuals shows that NG feeding in an intermittent diurnal pattern promotes phasic hormonal, digestive and metabolic responses vital for effective nutrition, though this has not been studied in the critically ill population. This proof-of-concept study aimed to compare the effect of diurnal intermittent versus continuous enteral feeding on hormonal and metabolic outcomes in ICU patients.
METHODS: We conducted a single-centre, randomised, open-label trial in the ICU. Adult ICU patients that were anticipated to require NG feeding for >48 h were randomised to an intermittent diurnal regimen (feeds at 8:00, 13:00 and 18:00), or continuous feeding with equivalent nutritional value, for 48 h. The primary outcome was peak plasma insulin within 3 h of delivering the first intermittent feed on the second study day, compared to the same time period in the continuous group. Secondary outcomes included feasibility, tolerability and metabolic profiles.
RESULTS: Thirty patients were randomised to intermittent (n = 13) or continuous (n = 17) feeding. Two patients in the intermittent group were excluded from analysis. Both groups achieved their feed targets. Peak plasma insulin concentrations (mean ± SD) were significantly higher in the intermittent group versus continuous (295.1 ± 167.8 vs. 128.1 ± 57.2 pmol/L, p < 0.001). Plasma glucose concentrations were not significantly different between groups. There were no between-group differences in other plasma metabolites and there were no adverse events such as hyper-/hypo-glycaemia. There was evidence of increased bowel motility in the intermittent group.
CONCLUSION: Intermittent diurnal feeding, compared to continuous feeding, preserves the physiological insulin response in critically ill adults. Both regimens were well tolerated, supporting the need for a larger trial to assess other clinically important patient-centred outcomes.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial was registered prospectively at clinicaltrials.gov (study ID NCT06115044).
