Türk Yoğun Bakim Derneği Dergisi (Mar 2025)

Evaluation of Enteral Nutrition Applications in Pediatric Intensive Care Units in Türkiye

  • Tülay Yakut,
  • Duygu Sönmez Düzkaya,
  • Gülzade Uysal

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4274/tybd.galenos.2024.26214
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 23, no. 1
pp. 78 – 87

Abstract

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Objective: Enteral nutrition practices in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) in Türkiye and all around the world are mostly performed in accordance with an expert opinion due to the inadequacy of evidence-based practices. Therefore, different approaches are observed in enteral nutrition applications. This research aimed to evaluate the enteral nutrition practices in PICUs in Türkiye. Materials and Methods: The research was carried out through the online survey database between February 2021 and June 2021 by reaching 73 out of 93 PICUs according to the 2019 data of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Türkiye. The “clinical identification form” and “the clinic’s evaluation form for enteral nutrition practices” were prepared by the researcher and expert opinion was taken. The data were analyzed with the SPSS 21.0 program. Results: As a standard, the first preferred method was the gastrointestinal tract (98.6%) followed by the intermittent feeding method (93.2%). The commonly used criteria to evaluate enteral feeding tolerance included gastric residual volume (GRV), vomiting, increased abdominal pressure, and diarrhea. 61.6% of PICUs routinely measured GRV in patients who were on enteral feeding, whereas 31.5% did not routinely measure it but measured GRV only in patients with signs of intolerance. The frequency of GRV measurement was 50.7% in patients who were on intermittent feeding, and it was performed before each feeding. Conclusion: It was determined that the routine GRV control was frequently performed in enterally fed patients in PICUs, and the first preferred enteral feeding method was the intermittent gastric route. However, it is noteworthy that the use of written enteral nutrition protocols in PICU was insufficient. In accordance with these findings, we recommend implementing practices to encourage the use of the enteral nutrition protocol in the PICU.

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