Effect of Not Monitoring Residual Gastric Volume on Risk of Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia in Adults Receiving Mechanical Ventilation and Early Enteral Feeding

Background Early enteral nutrition is the standard of care in critically ill patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation. However, numerous studies have shown that early enteral nutrition is frequently not used. The main reason for nonuse is gastrointestinal intolerance to enteral nutrition which has been ascribed to gastroparesis with increased gastric volume, gastroesophageal reflux, and regurgitation or vomiting carrying a risk of aspiration and ventilator-associated pneumonia. Aim of the Work To test the hypothesis that the risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia is not increased when residual gastric volume is not monitored compared with routine residual gastric volume monitoring in patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation and early enteral nutrition. Furthermore residual gastric volume monitoring may be associated with decreased calorie delivery and therefore, with underfeeding and increased morbidity. Patients and Methods This is a Prospective cohort study that was conducted at Ain Shams University Hospitals& Rashid General hospital for 6 months on critically ill patients admitted to ICU with mechanical ventilation. Sample sizes of 215 in each group totaling 430 in the study achieve 80% power to detect a non-inferiority margin difference between the group proportions of -0.0800. The reference group proportion is 0.158. The treatment group proportion is assumed to be 0.078 under the null hypothesis of inferiority. Results There was no significant difference between groups regard BMI (is calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared), SAPS II or SOFA regard sex distribution the majority were male in both groups with no significant difference and also DM and HTN distributed with no significant difference between groups. Considering cause of admission and risk factors distribution between studied groups, in our study there is no significant difference or association between the two groups and the majority admission causes of both groups were respiratory and cancer. No significant difference between groups regard hospital stay or ICU days but MV days were significantly shorter in intervention group. In our study, Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia was significantly associated with control group as 47.4% had pneumonia while only 11.2% in intervention group had it. In the present study, cumulative calories deficit was significantly lower in intervention group, Intolerance and Prokinetic TTT were significantly associated with control group. Conclusion The current study supports the hypothesis that a protocol of enteral nutrition management without residual gastric volume monitoring is not inferior to a similar protocol including residual gastric volume monitoring in terms of protection against VAP. Residual gastric volume monitoring leads to unnecessary interruptions of enteral nutrition delivery with subsequent inadequate feeding and should be removed from the standard care of critically ill patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation and early enteral nutrition.

Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia

not effective as observed in this case also, phenytoin may worsen the overall toxicity.Hence, phenobarbitone controls pyrethroid-evoked seizure foci through its dual action such as chloride channel agonist and as a membrane stabilizer. [5] As pyrethroid insecticides have come into prominent use in recent years, the incidence of poisoning has increased.Hence, practitioners may be sensitized on the clinical manifestations, course, selection of anticonvulsants and outcome of pyrethroid poisoning, as well as be informed that these cases shall not be considered as simple or taken lightly.

Background & Objective: Gastric motility disorder is common in patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU), leading to increased morbidity and mortality. We investigated the effects of different doses of neostigmine in combination with metoclopramide on gastric residual volume (GRV) in ICU patients on enteral feeding.
 Methods: In this double-blind clinical trial, 144 patients hospitalized in the ICU who were under enteral nutrition through nasogastric (NGT) or orogastric (OG) tube were randomly allocated to four groups. In all four groups, 20 mg of metoclopramide was prescribed IV slowly within one minute. In groups A, B, and C, 1, 1.5, and 2 mg of neostigmine were injected IV, respectively. Group D received only 20 mg of metoclopramide. All patients were gavaged every 4 h with 300 ml. The patient's head was kept at a 45° angle. To determine GRV, aspiration was done through NG tube or OG tube before the start of infusion and then at 3, 6, 9, and 12 h after the end of infusion.
 Results: There was no significant difference between the studied groups in terms of demographic variables such as age, blood pressure, heart rate and BMI (P > 0.05). The average difference of SOFA and APACHE and laboratory factors between the groups was not significant. The results of the comparison of the marginal averages of the residual volume of the stomach at different hours of the day showed that the amount of the residual volume at all hours had a significant average difference with each other. The addition of different doses of neostigmine had a significant effect on the residual volume of the stomach after 3 and 6 h (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, a dose of 2.0 mg of neostigmine had the most of the change 3 h after administration.
 Conclusion: Administration of neostigmine in combination with metoclopramide in ICU patients on enteral feeding significantly reduces the residual volume of the stomach within 12 hours after the treatment.
 Abbreviations: APACHE- Acute Physiology And Chronic Health Evaluation; GRV - Gastric Residual Volume; NG – Nasogastric; OG - Orogastric; SOFA- Sequential Organ Failure Assessment; VAP - ventilator-associated pneumonia
 Key words: APACHE; Enteral Nutrition; ICU; Metoclopramide; Neostigmine; SOFA
 Citation: Moshari M, Tahmasebi Z, Dahi M, Vosoughian M, Dabir S, Madadi F, Tabashi S, Ariannik M, Khatiri MAK. The effect of different doses of neostigmine plus metoclopramide on the gastric residual volume in patients under enteral nutrition in intensive care unit. Anaesth. pain intensive care 2024;28(1):33-38.
 DOI: 10.35975/apic.v28i1.2378
 Received: August 06, 2023; Reviewed: September 11, 2023; Accepted: September 21, 2023

To the Editor: Dr Reignier and colleagues1 provided evidence that not measuring residual gastric volume and adjusting enteral nutrition except in the case of vomiting or regurgitation (intervention group) did not negatively affect clinical outcomes compared with checking residual gastric volume 4 times per day and adjusting enteral feeding rates if the volume exceeded 250 mL (control group). The conclusion given by the authors that monitoring residual gastric volume should be discontinued in all patients receiving mechanical ventilation and early enteral nutrition is, in our opinion, an overstatement, because we believe that the external validity of the trial is limited.

Objectives: The value of gastric residual volume (GRV) monitoring in ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) has frequently been questioned in the past years. In this trial, the effect of GRV on the frequency of VAP was evaluated in critically ill patients under mechanical ventilation.
 Methods: This descriptive study was carried out on 150 adult patients admitted to the intensive care unit over a 14-month period, from October 2015 to January 2017. GRV was measured every three hours, and gastric intolerance was defined as GRV>250 cc. The incidence of vomiting and VAP, GRV, length of mechanical ventilation and ICU stay, APACHE II and SOFA scores, and mortality rate were noted.
 Results: The mean APACHEII and SOFA scores, ICU length of stay, and duration of mechanical ventilation in the GRV>250ml group were significantly higher than in the GRV≤250 ml group (P<0.05). Also, a significantly higher number of patients in the GRV>250ml group experienced infection (62.3%) and vomiting (71.7%) compared with the GRV≤250 group (P<0.01). The highest OR was observed for SOFA score >15 and APACHE II >30, which increased the risk of GVR>250 ml by 10.09 (1.01-99.97) and 8.78 (1.49-51.58), respectively. Moreover, the increase in GVR was found to be higher in the non-survivor than in the survivor group.
 Conclusion: Increased GRV did not result in increased rates of VAP, ICU length of stay, and mortality. Therefore, the routine measurement of GRV as an important element of the VAP prevention bundle is not recommended in critically ill patients.
 How to cite this:
 Faramarzi E, Mahmoodpoor A, Hamishehkar H, Shadvar K, Iranpour A, Sabzevari T, et al. Effect of gastric residual volume monitoring on incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia in mechanically ventilated patients admitted to intensive care unit. Pak J Med Sci. 2020;36(1):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.1.1321
 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

To determine whether erythromycin facilitates early enteral nutrition in mechanically ventilated, critically ill patients. Prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, single-blind trial. General intensive care unit in a university-affiliated general hospital. Forty consecutive critically ill patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation and early nasogastric feeding. Patients were assigned randomly to intravenous erythromycin (250 mg/6 hrs; n = 20) or a placebo (intravenous 5% dextrose, 50 mL/6 hrs; n = 20) for 5 days. The first erythromycin or 5% dextrose injection was given at 8 am on the day after intubation. One hour later, a daily 18-hr enteral nutrition regimen via a 14-Fr gastric tube was started. Residual gastric volume was aspirated and measured every day at 9 am, 3 pm, 9 pm, and 3 am. Enteral nutrition was discontinued if residual gastric volume exceeded 250 mL or the patient vomited. On the first day, residual gastric volume was smaller in the erythromycin than in the placebo group (3 pm, 15 +/- 7 mL vs. 52 +/- 14 mL, p <.05; 9 pm, 29 +/- 15 mL vs. 100 +/- 20 mL, p <.001; 3 am, 11 +/- 4 mL vs. 54 +/- 13 mL, p <.05). With erythromycin, residual gastric volume at 9 pm was smaller on the second day (33 +/- 11 mL vs. 83 +/- 19 mL, p <.01) and residual gastric volume at 3 pm was smaller on the third day (39 +/- 15 mL vs. 88 +/- 19 mL, p <.05) than with placebo. On the fourth and fifth days, the differences in residual gastric volume were not significant. Enteral nutrition was discontinued before the end of the 5-day period in seven of the 20 erythromycin patients and 14 of the 20 placebo patients (p <.001). In critically ill patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation, erythromycin promotes gastric emptying and improves the chances of successful early enteral nutrition.

Objective To investigate the measuring method of residual gastric volume and its correlation with the effect of weight loss after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG). Methods The clinical data of 25 patients with obesity who received LSG at the Ruijin Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University between June 2012 and October 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. All the patients received the management during the perioperative period based on the International Sleeve Gastrectomy Expert Panel Consensus Statement (2013), and the intra- and post-operative conditions were recorded. All the patients were followed up by outpatient examination and admission to hospital at postoperative month 1, 6, 12 and 18, and the body mass index (BMI), excess of body weight and excess weight loss (EWL) rate were recorded. The postoperative residual gastric volumes of patients were estimated by simulating geometry after X-ray radiography using oral iodine. A correlation between the residual gastric volume at postoperative month 12 and increment of residual gastric volume from postoperative week 1 to month 12 and EWL at postoperative month 18 was studied. All the patients were divided into the large fundus group (residual gastric fundus volume>20 mL) and the small fundus group (residual gastric fundus volume≤20 mL). EWL of the 2 groups at postoperative month 18 was analyzed. Measurement data with normal distribution were presented as ±s and analyzed by the t test, and repeated measurement data were analyzed by the repealed measures ANOVA. Correlation analysis among the multivariate data was done by the multiple linear regression. Results All the 25 patients received successful LSG and regular follow-up with operation time of (180±60)minutes and volume of blood loss of (30±20)mL. All the patients were not complicated with intraoperative hemorrhea and splenic rupture and postoperative anastomotic leakage, stenosis and hemorrhea with the good recovery and satisfaction of incision. BMI at postoperative year 1 was (29±7)kg/m2, which was significantly different from (39±5)kg/m2 before operation (F=6.773, P 0.05). Conclusion The residual gastric volume of patients is increased gradually within postoperative year 1. There is a negative correlation between the effect of postoperative weight loss and the postoperative residual gastric volume and increment of residual gastric volume, and no obvious correlation between the postoperative volume of residual gastric fundus and short-term effect of weight loss. Key words: Obesity; Bariatric surgery; Gastrectomy; Radiography; Residual gastric volume; Laparoscopy

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is associated with increased mortality, prolonged length of hospital stay and increased healthcare costs in critically ill patients. Guidelines recommend a semi-recumbent position (30º to 45º) for preventing VAP among patients requiring mechanical ventilation. However, due to methodological limitations in existing systematic reviews, uncertainty remains regarding the benefits and harms of the semi-recumbent position for preventing VAP. To assess the effectiveness and safety of semi-recumbent positioning versus supine positioning to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in adults requiring mechanical ventilation. We searched CENTRAL (2015, Issue 10), which includes the Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections Group's Specialised Register, MEDLINE (1946 to October 2015), EMBASE (2010 to October 2015), CINAHL (1981 to October 2015) and the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM) (1978 to October 2015). We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing semi-recumbent versus supine positioning (0º to 10º), or RCTs comparing alternative degrees of positioning in mechanically ventilated patients. Our outcomes included clinically suspected VAP, microbiologically confirmed VAP, intensive care unit (ICU) mortality, hospital mortality, length of ICU stay, length of hospital stay, duration of ventilation, antibiotic use and any adverse events. Two review authors independently and in duplicate screened titles, abstracts and full texts, assessed risk of bias and extracted data using standardised forms. We calculated the mean difference (MD) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) for continuous data and the risk ratio (RR) and 95% CI for binary data. We performed meta-analysis using the random-effects model. We used the grading of recommendations, assessment, development and evaluation (GRADE) approach to grade the quality of evidence. We included 10 trials involving 878 participants, among which 28 participants in two trials did not provide complete data due to loss to follow-up. We judged all trials to be at high risk of bias. Semi-recumbent position (30º to 60º) versus supine position (0° to 10°) A semi-recumbent position (30º to 60º) significantly reduced the risk of clinically suspected VAP compared to a 0º to 10º supine position (eight trials, 759 participants, 14.3% versus 40.2%, RR 0.36; 95% CI 0.25 to 0.50; risk difference (RD) 25.7%; 95% CI 20.1% to 30.1%; GRADE: moderate quality evidence).There was no significant difference between the two positions in the following outcomes: microbiologically confirmed VAP (three trials, 419 participants, 12.6% versus 31.6%, RR 0.44; 95% CI 0.11 to 1.77; GRADE: very low quality evidence), ICU mortality (two trials, 307 participants, 29.8% versus 34.3%, RR 0.87; 95% CI 0.59 to 1.27; GRADE: low quality evidence), hospital mortality (three trials, 346 participants, 23.8% versus 27.6%, RR 0.84; 95% CI 0.59 to 1.20; GRADE: low quality evidence), length of ICU stay (three trials, 346 participants, MD -1.64 days; 95% CI -4.41 to 1.14 days; GRADE moderate quality evidence), length of hospital stay (two trials, 260 participants, MD -9.47 days; 95% CI -34.21 to 15.27 days; GRADE: very low quality evidence), duration of ventilation (four trials, 458 participants, MD -3.35 days; 95% CI -7.80 to 1.09 days), antibiotic use (three trials, 284 participants, 84.8% versus 84.2%, RR 1.00; 95% CI 0.97 to 1.03) and pressure ulcers (one trial, 221 participants, 28% versus 30%, RR 0.91; 95% CI 0.60 to 1.38; GRADE: low quality evidence). No other adverse events were reported. Semi-recumbent position (45°) versus 25° to 30° We found no statistically significant differences in the following prespecified outcomes: clinically suspected VAP (two trials, 91 participants, RR 0.74; 95% CI 0.35 to 1.56; GRADE: very low quality evidence), microbiologically confirmed VAP (one trial, 30 participants, RR 0.61; 95% CI 0.20 to 1.84: GRADE: very low quality evidence), ICU mortality (one trial, 30 participants, RR 0.57; 95% CI 0.15 to 2.13; GRADE: very low quality evidence), hospital mortality (two trials, 91 participants, RR 1.00; 95% CI 0.38 to 2.65; GRADE: very low quality evidence), length of ICU stay (one trial, 30 participants, MD 1.6 days; 95% CI -0.88 to 4.08 days; GRADE: very low quality evidence) and antibiotic use (two trials, 91 participants, RR 1.11; 95% CI 0.84 to 1.47). No adverse events were reported. A semi-recumbent position (≧ 30º) may reduce clinically suspected VAP compared to a 0° to 10° supine position. However, the evidence is seriously limited with a high risk of bias. No adequate evidence is available to draw any definitive conclusion on other outcomes and the comparison of alternative semi-recumbent positions. Adverse events, particularly venous thromboembolism, were under-reported.

Objective To explore the variation trend of gastric residual volume (GRV) during continuous enteral nutrition (EN) in critical patients by ultrasonic monitoring so as to provide a basis for standardizing GRV monitoring. Methods From November 2015 to January 2016, we selected 85 critical patients with continuous EN from three ICU in a Class Ⅲ Grade A hospital. The GRV was dynamically monitored by ultrasonic during continuous EN at different time points (0, 4, 8, 12, 16, 24 h) of feeding so as to explore its variation trend. Results The GRV of patients with continuous EN increased with the extension of feeding time. The GRV reached the peak at twelfth hour and showed a downtrend after that. There were no significant differences in GRVs at 4, 8, 12, 16 h between patients with and without mechanical ventilation (P=0.055, 0.169, 0.193, 0.154) . Conclusions The twelfth hour of feeding by daily was the important time point for GRV monitoring in patients with continuous EN. Key words: Intensive care; Critical patients; Enteral nutrition; Gastric residual volume

There is no clear consensus in the current guidelines published by major international anaesthetic associations on what is the most appropriate time for a patient to stop chewing gum. This open-label balanced-group randomised controlled trial aimed to evaluate whether the chewing of sugar-free gum caused an increased volume or reduced pH of residual gastric fluid in fasting patients. For this study 212 patients undergoing elective gastroscopy were randomised into a control group who followed routine fasting instructions and an intervention group who were asked to chew gum while fasting. Residual gastric fluid was aspirated under direct vision via a gastroscope under anaesthesia. The primary outcome was the incidence of a gastric residual volume &gt;50 ml in participants who chewed gum compared with a control group. Secondary outcomes were variability in the overall gastric volume distribution and gastric pH distribution between the two groups. Nine out of 110 (8.2%) in the chewing gum group and six out of 102 (5.9%) in the control group had a residual gastric fluid volume &gt;50 ml: incidence rate ratio 1.39 (95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.51–3.77; P = 0.60). However, only one patient (in the control group) had a residual gastric volume &gt;73 ml. There was no statistically significant difference in gastric volume distribution between groups, odds ratio 1.60 (95% CI 0.99–2.58; P = 0.054) or in the distribution of gastric pH measurement, odds ratio 0.90 (95% CI 0.57–1.44; P = 0.67). These results indicate that if there is an increase in the incidence of residual gastric volume &gt;50 ml in patients who chew gum preoperatively, it is likely to be small. Moreover, the absence of any patients in our chewing gum group with a residual gastric volume &gt;73 ml is reassuring.

To explore the application value of dynamic monitoring of gastric residual volume (GRV) in achieving different target energy in severe mechanical ventilation patients. A prospective randomized controlled study was conducted. Forty-two patients with mechanical ventilation admitted to the department of critical care medicine of General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University from July to December 2022 were enrolled. According to the random number table method, patients were divided into GRV guided enteral nutrition by traditional gastric juice pumpback method (control group, 22 patients) and GRV guided enteral nutrition by bedside ultrasound (test group, 20 patients). General data were collected from both groups, and clinical indicators such as hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), neutrophil percentage (Neut%), procalcitonin (PCT), absolute lymphocytes (LYM), prealbumin (PA), and retinol-binding protein (RBP) were dynamically observed. Inflammation, infection, immunity, nutritional indicators, and the incidence of reflux/aspiration, ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) were compared between the two groups, and further compared the proportion of patients with respectively to reach the target energy 25%, 50%, and 70% on days 1, 3, and 5 of initiated enteral nutrition. (1) There were no significant differences in gender, age, body mass index (BMI), duration of mechanical ventilation, and acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II), sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA), severe nutritional risk score (NUTRIC) at admission between the two groups, indicating comparability. (2) On day 1 of initiated enteral nutrition, there were no significant differences in infection, inflammation, immunity and nutrition indicators between the two groups. On day 3 of initiated enteral nutrition, the hs-CRP in the test group was lower than that control group, LYM and PA were higher than those control group [hs-CRP (mg/L): 129.60±75.18 vs. 185.20±63.74, LYM: 1.00±0.84 vs. 0.60±0.41, PA (mg/L): 27.30±3.66 vs. 22.30±2.55, all P < 0.05]. On day 5 of initiated enteral nutrition, the hs-CRP, Neut%, PCT in the test group were lower than those control group, LYM and PA were higher than those control group [hs-CRP (mg/L): 101.70±54.32 vs. 148.40±36.35, Neut%: (85.50±7.66)% vs. (92.90±6.01)%, PCT (μg/L): 0.7 (0.3, 2.7) vs. 3.6 (1.2, 7.5), LYM: 1.00±0.68 vs. 0.50±0.38, PA (mg/L): 27.10±4.57 vs. 20.80 ± 3.51, all P < 0.05]. There were no significantly differences in IL-6 and RBP between the two groups at different time points. (3) The proportion of 50% and 70% of achieved target energy in the test group on day 3, day 5 of initiated enteral nutrition were higher than those of the control group (70.0% vs. 36.4%, 70.0% vs. 36.4%, both P < 0.05). (4) The incidence of reflux/aspiration and VAP in the test group on day 5 of initiated enteral nutrition were significantly lower than those control group (incidence of reflux/aspiration: 5.0% vs. 28.6%, incidence of VAP: 10.0% vs. 36.4%, both P < 0.05). Dynamic monitoring of GRV by bedside ultrasound can accurately improve the proportion of 50% of achieved target energy on day 3 and 75% on day 5 in severe mechanical ventilation patients, improve the patient's inflammation, immune and nutritional status, and can prevent the occurrence of reflux/aspiration and VAP.

Background: At the present time, the optimal timing and use of enteral nutrition for mechanically ventilated medical patients is unknown.The current study will focus on the effect of early versus delayed enteral nutrition in critically ill mechanically ventilated medical patients. Aim of Study:To compare between early versus delayed enteral feeding in Invasive Mechanical Ventilation (IMV) patients.To assess association linking early nutrition (<48 hours after intubation), feeding route and calorie intake to mortality and risk of Ventilator Associated Pneumonia ( VAP) in patient with Invasive Mechanical Ventilation (IMV) .Patients and Methods: Patients will be scheduled to received their estimated total daily enteral nutritional requirements on either day 1 (early-feeding group) or day 5 (latefeeding group) of mechanical ventilation.Patients in the latefeeding group will be also scheduled to receive 20% of their estimated daily enteral nutritional requirements during the first 4 days of mechanical ventilation.Thirty (50%) consecutive eligible patients will be entered into the early-feeding group and thirty (50%) patients will be enrolled in the late-feeding group.All patients will be received enteral nutrition via continuous infusion by a feeding pump.Eligible patients will be followed in ICU for a maximum of 12 days or until death or discharge from ICU.Results: Logistic regression analysis shows that; after applying (forward method) and entering some predictor variables; the increase in BMI and late feeding technique; had an independent effect on increasing the probability of mortality occurrence; with significant statistical difference (p <0.05 respectively).The increase in BMI and late feeding technique; had an independent effect on increasing the probability of VAP occurrence; with significant statistical difference (p <0.05 respectively).By using ROC-curve analysis, early enteral feeding predicted shortening of hospital stay, with failed (64%) accuracy, sensitivity=63% and specificity=63% (p < 0 . 05). Conclusion:Evidence shows improvement in patient outcomes associated with the use of EEN in a diverse population of critically ill patients.The results of our study strengthen our understanding of the benefits of EEN.These benefits Correspondence to: Dr. Ahmed A.H. Elsedek, E-Mail:

Monitoring of residual gastric volume (RGV) to prevent aspiration is standard practice in mechanically ventilated patients receiving early enteral nutrition (EN). No data are available to support a correlation between RGV and adverse event rates. We evaluated whether not measuring RGV affected EN delivery, vomiting, or risk of nosocomial pneumonia. Two hundred and five eligible patients with nasogastric feeding within 48 hours after intubation were included in a 7-day prospective before-after study. Continuous 24-hour nutrition was started at 25 mL/h then increased by 25 mL/h every 6 hours, to 85 mL/h. In both groups, intolerance was treated with erythromycin (250 mg IV/6 h) and a delivery rate decrease to the previously well-tolerated rate. RGV monitoring was used during the first study period (n = 102), but not during the subsequent intervention period (n = 103). Intolerance was defined as RGV >250 mL/6 h or vomiting in the standard-practice group and as vomiting in the intervention group. Groups were similar for baseline characteristics. Median daily volume of enteral feeding was higher in the intervention group (1489; interquartile range [IQR], 1349-1647) than in the controls (1381; IQR, 1151-1591; P = .002). Intolerance occurred in 47 (46.1%) controls and 27 (26.2%) intervention patients (P = .004). The vomiting rate did not differ between controls and intervention group patients (24.5% vs 26.2%, respectively; P = .34), and neither was a difference found for ventilator-associated pneumonia (19.6% vs 18.4%; P = .86). Early EN without RGV monitoring in mechanically ventilated patients improves the delivery of enteral feeding and may not increase vomiting or ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Introduction: Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (VAP) is a common complication found in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and is associated with increased mortality, length of hospital stay and mechanical ventilation (MV) time. Objective: To determine the incidence of VAP and its impact on the clinical course of the subject undergoing invasive MV in the ICU. Methods: This is a cohort study of hospitalized subjects in the general adult ICU of the State Hospital of Bauru / SP. The clinical information for the period of 19 months were collected. Stratification for the groups was based on the presence or absence of VAP, free_VAP and VAP, respectively. The Hotelling T² with 95% confidence, chi-square and the Mann-Whitney tests were executed using the "R" software and the results showed as mean ± standard deviation and absolute and relative distribution (p &lt; 0.05). Results: The sample was of 322 subjects; the VAP group consisted of 73 (22.67%), 54.79% male, age: 62.31±16.96 years and the APACHE II: 29.98 ± 8.64. The VAP group had longer time of the MV and of the ICU compared to free VAP group; even in this group, the highest incidence of death in the ICU occurred between the 16th and 20th day of hospitalization. The free VAP group was older and 50% of the patients discharged from hospital. Conclusion: VAP and their interfaces still impact on the clinical evolution of the subjects mainly on the time factor of MV and ICU stay. The highest incidence of death in the ICU occurs in the first weeks.