Comparative study on the effect of enteral feeding on blood glucose.

摘要

Stress hyperglycaemia is common in intensive care patients. There is recent evidence to suggest that maintaining the blood glucose of a patient in intensive care between 4 mmol/litre and 6.1 mmol/litre reduces morbidity and mortality. The aim of this comparative study was to determine if blood glucose control improves with abolishing feeding breaks and introducing continuous enteral feeding. Twenty ventilated patients admitted to a combined medical and surgical intensive care unit were sampled. Ten patients received standard care (enteral feeding for 18 hours with an 8-hour break). The interventional group received continuous enteral feeding over the 24 hours. Analysis of the data revealed that continuous enteral feeding reduced blood glucose levels significantly, improved blood glucose control and reduced insulin requirements. Research should continue to determine if the results of this study could be replicated within a larger group of intensive care patients.