The effect of metoclopramide on gastric emptying in traumatic brain injury

Enteral feeding tolerance during pharmacologic neuromuscular blockade

A common misperception is that critically ill patients who receive paralytic therapy will not tolerate enteral nutrition. As a result, some clinicians empirically withhold enteral feedings for critically ill patients who receive neuromuscular blocker pharmacotherapy (NMB). The intent of this review is to examine the evidence regarding enteral feeding tolerance for critically ill patients given NMB. Studies evaluating enteral feeding during paralytic therapy are provided and critiqued. Evidence examining enteral feeding tolerance during NMB is limited. Enteral feeding intolerance is more likely attributable to the underlying illnesses and concurrent opioid analgesia, sedation, and vasopressor therapies. Most critically ill patients can be successfully fed during NMB. Prokinetic pharmacotherapy may be warranted in some patients.

Nutrition Therapy for Patients With Traumatic Brain Injury: A Narrative Review

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a global health and socio-economic problem, resulting in significant disability and mortality. Malnutrition is common in TBI patients and is associated with increased vulnerability to infection, higher morbidity and mortality rates, as well as longer stays in the intensive care unit and hospital. Following TBI, various pathophysiological mechanisms, such as hypermetabolism and hypercatabolism, affect patient outcomes. It is crucial to provide adequate nutrition therapy to prevent secondary brain damage and promote optimal recovery. This review includes a literature review and discusses the challenges encountered in clinical practice regarding nutrition in TBI patients. The focus is on determining energy requirements, timing and methods of nutrition delivery, promoting enteral tolerance, providing enteral nutrition to patients receiving vasopressors, and implementing trophic enteral nutrition. Enhancing our understanding of the current evidence regarding appropriate nutrition practices will contribute to improving overall outcomes for TBI patients.

Use of prokinetic agents in hospitalised adult patients: A scoping review

BACKGROUND

Gastrointestinal motility is important for adequate uptake of fluids and nutrition but is often impaired in hospitalised patients. Prokinetic agents enhance gastrointestinal motility and are prescribed for many hospitalised patients. In this scoping review, we aimed to systematically describe the body of evidence on the use of prokinetic agents in hospitalised patients. We hypothesised, that the body of evidence would be limited and derive from heterogeneous populations.

METHODS

We conducted this scoping review in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews statement. We searched Medline, Embase, Epistemonikos and the Cochrane Library for studies assessing the use of prokinetic agents on any indication and outcome in adult hospitalised patients. We used a modified version of the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) to assess the certainty of evidence.

RESULTS

We included 102 studies with a total of 8830 patients. Eighty-six studies were clinical trials (84%), and 52 (60%) of these were conducted in the intensive care unit, with feeding intolerance as the main indication. In the non-intensive care setting the indications were wider; most studies assessed use of prokinetic agents before gastroscopy to improve visualisation. The most studied prokinetic agent was metoclopramide (49% of studies) followed by erythromycin (31%). In total 147 outcomes were assessed with only 67% of the included studies assessing patient-centred outcomes, and with gastric emptying as the most frequently reported outcome. Overall, the data provided no firm evidence on the balance between the desirable and undesirable effects of prokinetic agents.

CONCLUSIONS

In this scoping review, we found that the studies addressing prokinetic agents in hospitalised adults had considerable variations in indications, drugs and outcomes assessed, and that the certainty of evidence was judged to be low to very low.

Nutrition Management in Patients With Traumatic Brain Injury: A Narrative Review

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of long-term physical and psychological disability and death. In patients with TBI, undernutrition is associated with an increased mortality rate, more infectious complications, and worse neurologic outcomes. Therefore, timely and effective nutritional therapy is particularly crucial in the management of TBI to improve patients' prognoses. This narrative review summarizes the issues encountered in clinical practice for patients with neurotrauma who receive acute and post-acute in-patient rehabilitation services, and it comprehensively incorporates a wide range of studies, including recent clinical practice guidelines (CPGs), with the aim of better understanding the current evidence for optimal nutritional therapy focused on TBI patients. Recent CPGs were reviewed for 6 topics: 1) hypermetabolism and variation in energy expenditure in patients with TBI, 2) delayed gastric emptying and intolerance to enteral nutrition, 3) decision-making on the route and timing of access in patients with TBI who are unable to maintain volitional intake (enteral nutrition versus parenteral nutrition), 4) decision-making on the enteral formula (standard or immune-modulating formulas), 5) glycemic control, and 6) protein support. We also identified areas that need further research in the future.

The efficacy and safety of prokinetics in critically ill adults receiving gastric feeding tubes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Intolerance to gastric feeding tubes is common among critically ill adults and may increase morbidity. Administration of prokinetics in the ICU is common. However, the efficacy and safety of prokinetics are unclear in critically ill adults with gastric feeding tubes. We conducted a systematic review to determine the efficacy and safety of prokinetics for improving gastric feeding tube tolerance in critically ill adults.

Methods

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were identified by systematically searching the Medline, Cochrane and Embase databases. Two independent reviewers extracted the relevant data and assessed the quality of the studies. We calculated pooled relative risks (RRs) for dichotomous outcomes and the mean differences (MDs) for continuous outcomes with the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We assessed the risk of bias using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool and used the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology to rate the quality of the evidence.

Results

Fifteen RCTs met the inclusion criteria. A total of 10 RCTs involving 846 participants were eligible for the quantitative analysis. Most studies (10 of 13, 76.92%) showed that prokinetics had beneficial effects on feeding intolerance in critically ill adults. In critically ill adults receiving gastric feeding, prokinetic agents may reduce the ICU length of stay (MD -2.03, 95% CI -3.96, -0.10; P = 0.04; low certainty) and the hospital length of stay (MD -3.21, 95% CI -5.35, -1.06; P = 0.003; low certainty). However, prokinetics failed to improve the outcomes of reported adverse events and all-cause mortality.

Conclusion

As a class of drugs, prokinetics may improve tolerance to gastric feeding to some extent in critically ill adults. However, the certainty of the evidence suggesting that prokinetics reduce the ICU or hospital length of stay is low. Prokinetics did not significantly decrease the risks of reported adverse events or all-cause mortality among critically ill adults.

Safety of Metoclopramide in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Patients

Introduction Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) occur due to severe head assault to a hard object, with headache and vomiting being amongst the most common presenting symptoms. Metoclopramide is an old antiemetic agent that has been used widely for nausea and vomiting in TBI patients.

Aim A systematic review of the literature to investigate the safety of metoclopramide in treating TBI patients.

Methods A literature review was conducted in six databases, where we determined the pertinence of a study to the inclusion criteria by assessing the title, keywords, and abstracts. Five studies were found to be relevant. Data were extracted using multiple variables that were formulated incongruent with the study aim and then further analyzed.

Results The collective sample size was 93 patients with an average of age 38.5 years. As much as 51.6% were male and 48.6% were females. Most patients received 10 mg metoclopramide IV with a percentage of 77.4%, while only 22.5% received 20 mg IV metoclopramide. Seventy-one patients received metoclopramide alone and 22 received combination therapy. Headache was the most common reported side effect (46.2%), followed by anxiety and drowsiness with (39.7%) and (27.9%), respectively. Fatigue was reported in 24.7%, while dystonia was the least common and developed in only 5.3% of patients.

Conclusion Metoclopramide is a common medication used to treat TBI patients in the emergency department. However, the review demonstrated that the central nervous system (CNS) side effect is excepted. Treatments with lower CNS side effects may be better options.

Nutritional and metabolic supplementation for the injured brain: an update

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Energy dysfunction is increasingly recognized as a key factor in the pathogenesis of acute brain injury (ABI). This one characterized by a high metabolic rate and nitrogen loss is often associated with an undernutrition support. We review the metabolism evolution and nutritional status in brain injured patient and summarize evidence on nutritional support in this condition.

RECENT FINDINGS

The role of nutrition support for improving prognosis in brain injured patient has been underlined recently. A fast nutrition institution whatever the route is essential to prevent an imbalance in caloric support. Moreover, hypermetabolic state must be prevented with a sufficient nitrogen support. Glycemic control is particularly relevant in this group of patient, with the discovery of new fuel that could potentially improve cerebral metabolism and replace glucose. Few data support also the use of immunonutrition input in this group of patients.

SUMMARY

Nutritional support is a key parameter in brain injured patient and must be initiated quickly to counteract hypermetabolic state by caring to improve caloric and nitrogen input. Recent clinical data support the use of immunonutrition, glutamine and zinc in this particular setting.

Enteral tolerance in critically ill patients

Enteral nutrition (EN) can maintain the structure and function of the gastrointestinal mucosa better than parenteral nutrition. In critically ill patients, EN must be discontinued or interrupted, if gastrointestinal complications, particularly vomiting and bowel movement disorders, do not resolve with appropriate management. To avoid such gastrointestinal complications, EN should be started as soon as possible with a small amount of EN first and gradually increased. EN itself may also promote intestinal peristalsis. The measures to decrease the risk of reflux and aspiration include elevation the head of the bed (30° to 45°), switch to continuous administration, administration of prokinetic drugs or narcotic antagonists to promote gastrointestinal motility, and switch to jejunal access (postpyloric route). Moreover, the control of bowel movement is also important for intensive care and management. In particular, prolonged diarrhea can cause deficiency in nutrient absorption, malnutrition, and increase in mortality. In addition, diarrhea may cause a decrease the circulating blood volume, metabolic acidosis, electrolyte abnormalities, and contamination of surgical wounds and pressure ulcers. If diarrhea occurs in critically ill patients on EN management, it is important to determine whether diarrhea is EN-related or not. After ruling out the other causes of diarrhea, the measures to prevent EN-related diarrhea include switch to continuous infusion, switch to gastric feeding, adjustment of agents that improve gastrointestinal peristalsis or laxative, administration of antidiarrheal drugs, changing the type of EN formula, and semisolidification of EN formula. One of the best ways to success for EN management is to continue as long as possible without interruption and discontinuation of EN easily by appropriate measures, even if gastrointestinal complications occur.

Optimizing early enteral nutrition in severe stroke (OPENS): protocol for a multicentre randomized controlled trial

Background

Malnutrition is one of the crucial factors associated with poor prognosis in critical ill patients, yet a significant evidence gap surrounds the management of initial enteral feeding in severe stroke. The Optimizing Early Enteral Nutrition in Severe Stroke (OPENS) trial will compare a strategy of modified full enteral nutrition (EN) (standard full EN in conjunction with prokinetic drug) and a strategy of permissive underfeeding (40 to 60% of estimated caloric requirements) with standard full EN (advancement to target nutrition goals) in patients with severe stroke.

Methods

The OPENS trial is a multicenter randomized controlled study. A total of 600 adult patients with severe stroke will be enrolled in 12 study sites in China, and randomized to standard full EN, modified full EN, or permissive underfeeding. The primary outcome measurement is the proportion of participants with a poor outcome (modified Rankin Scale ≥3) at day 90 of enrollment. Secondary outcomes include incidence rates of complications during hospitalization, disability at hospital discharge, and the ability of activities of daily living at day 90 of enrollment. The relationship between intervention and the primary outcome will be analyzed using multivariate logistic regression adjusted for study site, demographics, and baseline characteristics.

Discussion

The OPENS trial will explore the optimum initial feeding strategy for acute severe stroke. This trial is, therefore, an important step in bridging the evidence gap surrounding the enteral feeding for patients with severe stroke during the first week of hospitalization.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02982668; First Posted: December 5, 2016.

Incidence of diarrhea and associated risk factors in patients with traumatic brain injury and enteral nutrition

To determine the occurrence of diarrhea and associated factors in critically ill patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in use of nutritional therapy. Prospective cohort study conducted in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a General Hospital reference in trauma. We evaluated TBI patients who stayed less than 72 h in the ICU, who were using EN for at least 48 h. Definition of diarrhea it was considered three or more episodes of liquid stools or semi-liquid at 24 h. For analysis were evaluated demographic, epidemiological, clinical and nutritional data. Twenty-three patients were evaluated, being 86.9% male, median 33 years old (IQR = 25-52 years) and 16-day ICU stay (IQR = 10-26 days). Diarrhea occurred in 69.6% of the patients and they had a longer time in the ICU (p = 0.007). All patients who used combination prokinetic therapy (metoclopramide and erythromycin) and used antibiotics for more than 8 days had diarrhea (p = 0.057 and p = 0.007, respectively). The incidence of diarrhea was high in TBI patients with enteral nutrition and was associated with the use of antibiotics for more than one week.

ESPEN guideline on clinical nutrition in the intensive care unit

Following the new ESPEN Standard Operating Procedures, the previous guidelines to provide best medical nutritional therapy to critically ill patients have been updated. These guidelines define who are the patients at risk, how to assess nutritional status of an ICU patient, how to define the amount of energy to provide, the route to choose and how to adapt according to various clinical conditions. When to start and how to progress in the administration of adequate provision of nutrients is also described. The best determination of amount and nature of carbohydrates, fat and protein are suggested. Special attention is given to glutamine and omega-3 fatty acids. Particular conditions frequently observed in intensive care such as patients with dysphagia, frail patients, multiple trauma patients, abdominal surgery, sepsis, and obesity are discussed to guide the practitioner toward the best evidence based therapy. Monitoring of this nutritional therapy is discussed in a separate document.

The currency, completeness and quality of systematic reviews of acute management of moderate to severe traumatic brain injury: A comprehensive evidence map

OBJECTIVE

To appraise the currency, completeness and quality of evidence from systematic reviews (SRs) of acute management of moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).

METHODS

We conducted comprehensive searches to March 2016 for published, English-language SRs and RCTs of acute management of moderate to severe TBI. Systematic reviews and RCTs were grouped under 12 broad intervention categories. For each review, we mapped the included and non-included RCTs, noting the reasons why RCTs were omitted. An SR was judged as 'current' when it included the most recently published RCT we found on their topic, and 'complete' when it included every RCT we found that met its inclusion criteria, taking account of when the review was conducted. Quality was assessed using the AMSTAR checklist (trichotomised into low, moderate and high quality).

FINDINGS

We included 85 SRs and 213 RCTs examining the effectiveness of treatments for acute management of moderate to severe TBI. The most frequently reviewed interventions were hypothermia (n = 17, 14.2%), hypertonic saline and/or mannitol (n = 9, 7.5%) and surgery (n = 8, 6.7%). Of the 80 single-intervention SRs, approximately half (n = 44, 55%) were judged as current and two-thirds (n = 52, 65.0%) as complete. When considering only the most recently published review on each intervention (n = 25), currency increased to 72.0% (n = 18). Less than half of the 85 SRs were judged as high quality (n = 38, 44.7%), and nearly 20% were low quality (n = 16, 18.8%). Only 16 (20.0%) of the single-intervention reviews (and none of the five multi-intervention reviews) were judged as current, complete and high-quality. These included reviews of red blood cell transfusion, hypothermia, management guided by intracranial pressure, pharmacological agents (various) and prehospital intubation. Over three-quarters (n = 167, 78.4%) of the 213 RCTs were included in one or more SR. Of the remainder, 17 (8.0%) RCTs post-dated or were out of scope of existing SRs, and 29 (13.6%) were on interventions that have not been assessed in SRs.

CONCLUSION

A substantial number of SRs in acute management of moderate to severe TBI lack currency, completeness and quality. We have identified both potential evidence gaps and also substantial research waste. Novel review methods, such as Living Systematic Reviews, may ameliorate these shortcomings and enhance utility and reliability of the evidence underpinning clinical care.

Metoclopramide as intermittent and continuous infusions in critically ill patients: a pilot randomized clinical trial

AIM

Metoclopramide is commonly used as a prokinetic agent in critically ill patients with enteral feeding intolerance. In this study, noninferiority of metoclopramide as intermittent versus continuous infusion was examined in critically ill patients with enteral feeding intolerance.

METHODS

Forty critically ill adults patients were assigned to receive metoclopramide as either intermittent (10 mg every 6 h) or continuous (2 mg/h) infusion. Frequency of feeding intolerance and adverse effects of metoclopramide were assessed during 7 days of study.

RESULTS

Number of patients with feeding intolerance during different times of the course was not different between the groups. Although not statistically significant, diarrhea and cardiac rhythm were more common in continuous than intermittent infusion group.

CONCLUSION

Continuous and intermittent infusions of metoclopramide showed equivalent effectiveness in critically ill patients.

ASPEN Safe Practices for Enteral Nutrition Therapy [Formula: see text]

Enteral nutrition (EN) is a valuable clinical intervention for patients of all ages in a variety of care settings. Along with its many outcome benefits come the potential for adverse effects. These safety issues are the result of clinical complications and of process-related errors. The latter can occur at any step from patient assessment, prescribing, and order review, to product selection, labeling, and administration. To maximize the benefits of EN while minimizing adverse events requires that a systematic approach of care be in place. This includes open communication, standardization, and incorporation of best practices into the EN process. This document provides recommendations based on the available evidence and expert consensus for safe practices, across each step of the process, for all those involved in caring for patients receiving EN.

The efficacy and safety of prokinetic agents in critically ill patients receiving enteral nutrition: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials

Background

Intolerance to enteral nutrition is common in critically ill adults, and may result in significant morbidity including ileus, abdominal distension, vomiting and potential aspiration events. Prokinetic agents are prescribed to improve gastric emptying. However, the efficacy and safety of these agents in critically ill patients is not well-defined. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the efficacy and safety of prokinetic agents in critically ill patients.

Methods

We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library from inception up to January 2016. Eligible studies included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of critically ill adults assigned to receive a prokinetic agent or placebo, and that reported relevant clinical outcomes. Two independent reviewers screened potentially eligible articles, selected eligible studies, and abstracted pertinent data. We calculated pooled relative risk (RR) for dichotomous outcomes and mean difference for continuous outcomes, with the corresponding 95 % confidence interval (CI). We assessed risk of bias using Cochrane risk of bias tool, and the quality of evidence using grading of recommendations assessment, development, and evaluation (GRADE) methodology.

Results

Thirteen RCTs (enrolling 1341 patients) met our inclusion criteria. Prokinetic agents significantly reduced feeding intolerance (RR 0.73, 95 % CI 0.55, 0.97; P = 0.03; moderate certainty), which translated to 17.3 % (95 % CI 5, 26.8 %) absolute reduction in feeding intolerance. Prokinetics also reduced the risk of developing high gastric residual volumes (RR 0.69; 95 % CI 0.52, 0.91; P = 0.009; moderate quality) and increased the success of post-pyloric feeding tube placement (RR 1.60, 95 % CI 1.17, 2.21; P = 0.004; moderate quality). There was no significant improvement in the risk of vomiting, diarrhea, intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay or mortality. Prokinetic agents also did not significantly increase the rate of diarrhea.

Conclusion

There is moderate-quality evidence that prokinetic agents reduce feeding intolerance in critically ill patients compared to placebo or no intervention. However, the impact on other clinical outcomes such as pneumonia, mortality, and ICU length of stay is unclear.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13054-016-1441-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Comparison of erythromycin versus metoclopramide for gastric feeding intolerance in patients with traumatic brain injury: A randomized double-blind study

Background:

No randomized controlled trial demonstrates the efficacy of erythromycin or metoclopramide in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). This study was conducted to determine the efficacy of metoclopramide and erythromycin for improving gastric aspirate volume (GAV) in patients with TBI.

Materials and Methods:

Patients with Glasgow coma score more than 5 admitted to trauma Intensive Care Unit within 72 h of head injury were assessed for eligibility. 115 patients were prospectively randomized to receive metoclopramide, erythromycin, or placebo eighth hourly. Gastric feeding intolerance was defined as GAV more than 150 ml with abdominal symptoms. Two consecutive high GAV was defined as feeding failure. Feeding failure was treated by increasing the frequency of dose to 6 hourly in metoclopramide and erythromycin group. Combination therapy with both drugs was given as rescue in the placebo group.

Results:

Incidence of high GAV was as high as 60.5% in placebo group. Use of erythromycin was associated with a decrease in the incidence of feeding intolerance to 28.9% (P = 0.006). Although feed intolerance decreased to 43.6% in metoclopramide group, values did not reach statistical significance. The proportion of patients not having high GAV at different days were significantly higher in erythromycin group (P = 0.027, log-rank test). There was no difference in the proportion of patients not having feeding failure in three groups with increasing number of days.

Conclusion:

There was a significant decrease in the incidence of high GAV with the use of erythromycin when compared to metoclopramide and placebo.

Enteral nutrition in patients with severe traumatic brain injury: reasons for intolerance and medical management

Approximately, 50% of patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) exhibit intolerance to enteral nutrition (EN). This intolerance hampers the survival and rehabilitation of this subpopulation to a great extent, and poses various difficulties for clinicians due to its complex underlying mechanisms. This review discusses the possible reasons for intolerance to EN following severe TBI, current trends in medical management, as well as other related issues that are experienced by many clinicians.

Practicalities of nutrition support in the intensive care unit: the usefulness of gastric residual volume and prokinetic agents with enteral nutrition

The provision of early nutrition therapy to critically ill patients is established as the standard of care in most intensive care units around the world. Despite the known benefits, tolerance of enteral nutrition in the critically ill varies and delivery is often interrupted. Observational research has demonstrated that clinicians deliver little more than half of the enteral nutrition they plan to provide. The main clinical tool for assessing gastric tolerance is gastric residual volume; however, its usefulness in this setting is debated. There are several strategies employed to improve the tolerance and hence adequacy of enteral nutrition delivery in the critically ill. One of the most widely used strategies is that of prokinetic drug administration, most commonly metoclopramide and erythromycin. Although there are new agents being investigated, none are ready for routine application in the critically ill and the benefits are still being established. This review investigates current practice and considers the literature on assessment of enteral tolerance and optimization of enteral nutrition in the critically ill.

Disparate response to metoclopramide therapy for gastric feeding intolerance in trauma patients with and without traumatic brain injury

Patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) have delayed gastric emptying and often require prokinetic drug therapy to improve enteral feeding tolerance. The authors hypothesized that metoclopramide was less efficacious for improving gastric feeding tolerance for trauma patients with TBI compared to trauma patients without TBI. A retrospective analysis was conducted of patients admitted to the trauma or neurosurgical intensive care unit who received gastric feeding from January 2006 to April 2008. Gastric feeding intolerance was defined by a gastric residual volume >200 mL or emesis with abdominal distension or discomfort. Patients with gastric feeding intolerance were given metoclopramide 10 mg intravenously every 6 hours, followed by a dose escalation to 20 mg, and then combination therapy with metoclopramide and erythromycin 250 mg intravenously every 6 hours if intolerance persisted. In total, 882 trauma patients (49% with TBI) were evaluated. TBI patients had a higher incidence of gastric feeding intolerance than those without TBI (18.6% vs 10.4%, P < or = .001). Efficacy rates for metoclopramide 10 mg, metoclopramide 20 mg, and metoclopramide-erythromycin were 55%, 62%, and 79%, respectively (P < or = .03). Metoclopramide failure occurred in 54% of patients with TBI compared to 35% of patients without TBI, respectively (P < or = .02), due to a greater prevalence of tachyphylaxis. Single-drug therapy with metoclopramide was less effective for TBI trauma patients compared to trauma patients without TBI. Combination therapy with erythromycin as first-line therapy for TBI trauma patients with gastric feeding intolerance is indicated if there are no contraindications or significant drug interactions.

[Promotility drugs use in critical care: indications and limits?]

Enteral feeding is often limited by gastric and intestinal motility disturbances in critically ill patients, particularly in patients with shock. So, promotility agents are frequently used to improve tolerance to enteral nutrition. This review summaries the pathophysiology, presents the available pharmacological strategies, the clinical data, the counter-indications and the principal limits. The clinical data are poor. No study demonstrates a positive effect on clinical outcomes. Metoclopramide and erythromycin seems to be the more effective. Considering the risk of antibiotic resistance, the first line use of erythromycin should be avoided in favor of metoclopramide.

Bedside postpyloric feeding tube placement: a pilot series to validate this novel technique

OBJECTIVE

Postpyloric feeding may facilitate tolerance to enteral nutrition (EN) and offers an alternative route of feed administration when prepyloric EN fails. However, this is constrained by the difficulty of establishing nasojejunal (NJ) tube placement, which may necessitate endoscopy or radiology with the inevitable delay in the instigation of treatment. A bedside technique of NJ tube insertion has, therefore, been developed to permit blind postpyloric intubation. The primary aim of this audit was to validate the success of bedside NJ tube placement using the described technique. Secondary end points included the time taken to establish EN and the value of aspirate pH as an indicator of tube tip placement.

DESIGN

Observational.

SETTING

District general hospital.

PATIENTS

Consecutive patients requiring EN.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

The time taken to insert the tubes, the success rates in achieving the required position, and the time between the decision to feed and commencement of EN were recorded. The pH of any aspirate obtained was related to tube tip placement. Tube position was confirmed radiologically before starting EN. A total of 43 NJ tubes were inserted in 32 patients. Successful postpyloric intubation was achieved in 35 of 43 patients (81%). The median time for tube insertion was 18 (14-30) minutes. Time from the decision to feed to commencement of EN was 6 (5-18) hours. Aspirates were obtained from 26 of 43 (60%) intubations. Gastric aspirate pH readings were obtained for 19 of 43 (44%) of these intubations. Radiology reliably demonstrated the position of the tube tip in all cases.

CONCLUSIONS

By-the-bedside NJ tube placement is possible in more than 80% of patients. This may overcome delays in the commencement of feeds resulting from other methods of postpyloric tube placement. The use of aspirate pH on its own is not a reliable indicator of tube tip position.

Motility disorders in the ICU: recent therapeutic options and clinical practice

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Motility disturbances often occur in critically ill patients resulting in an increased rate of morbidity and mortality. Only limited options for treatment of gastrointestinal dysfunction have been introduced. Factors contributing to motility disorders in the ICU patient, and recent therapeutic approaches are reviewed in the following.

RECENT FINDINGS

Despite the growing use of early enteral nutrition in the ICU and improvements in patients' outcome, feed intolerance and motility disorders in critical illness remain unsolved. Evaluation of pathophysiological patterns such as antro-pyloric dysfunction has led to a better knowledge of gut function, whereas development of new prokinetic agents is scarce, and enthusiasm has been cut by the withdrawal of some propulsive agents from the market.

SUMMARY

The complexity of gastrointestinal motor function poses a challenge to the pharmacological modulation of gut motility. There has been progress in the understanding of pathophysiologic patterns, whereas therapeutic options are still rare. Metoclopramide and erythromycin are the best evaluated and still the most promising prokinetic agents. Only a few studies in critical illness are available, and the definite value of novel propulsive agents such as motilin agonists and mu-receptor antagonists is unclear due to small patient populations. The most reasonable approach of motility disorders in critical illness seems to be an individual assessment of all associated risk factors combined with early enteral nutrition and use of prokinetic agents.