Preterm neonates have an immature gut and metabolism and may benefit from total parenteral nutrition (TPN) before enteral food is introduced. Conversely, delayed enteral feeding may inhibit gut maturation and sensitize to necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Intestinal mass and NEC lesions were first recorded in preterm pigs fed enterally (porcine colostrum, bovine colostrum, or formula for 20-40 h...

Background: Feeding intolerance is a common problem among premature infants. There is limited information on the safety and effects of oral probiotic supplements, especially products containing Lactobacillus reuteri, and the incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in low birth weight preterm infants. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Lactobacillus reuteri on the gastrointestinal ...

CONTEXT The amount of enteral nutrition patients with acute lung injury need is unknown. OBJECTIVE To determine if initial lower-volume trophic enteral feeding would increase ventilator-free days and decrease gastrointestinal intolerances compared with initial full enteral feeding. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS The EDEN study, a randomized, open-label, multicenter trial conducted from J...

Enteral nutrition in critically ill patients has been widely debated. Some of the questions include optimal time to begin enteral feeding, gastric versus small-bowel tube placement, and what markers should be used to measure intolerance to enteral nutrition. Although some of these questions are yet to be answered, more evidence has become available since the 1990s to guide practice. For critica...

Abstract In preterm infants, enteral feeding is often delayed by hours to days after birth for fear of feeding intolerance due to immaturity, to avoid the accentuation of hypoxic/ischemic intestinal injury that might have been sustained in utero due to maternal risk factors such as pre-eclampsia, placental inusufficiency, or chorioamnionitis, or after birth due to the presence of cardio respira...

BACKGROUND The pathogenesis of diarrhea in patients receiving enteral feeding includes colonic water secretion, antibiotic prescription, and enteropathogenic colonization, each of which involves an interaction with the gastrointestinal microbiota. OBJECTIVE The objective was to investigate temporal changes in the concentrations of fecal microbiota and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in patien...

A blended diet for enteral nutrition is defined as home-made everyday food blended to a smooth 'single cream' consistency. At present, blended food is not recommended as a first choice. However, the wishes of parents who prefer to use blended food for their child need to be respected, and hospice policy for Children's Hospice South West is to replicate home conditions as far as possible. Theref...

In surgical patients, malnutrition is an important risk factor for post-operative complications. In undernourished patients undergoing major gastrointestinal procedures, preoperative enteral nutrition (EN) should be preferred whenever feasible. It may be given either orally or by feeding tubes, depending on patient compliance. Early oral intake after surgery should be encouraged, but if an insu...

Enteral supplementation for nutritional support in pediatric oncology patients remains nonstandardized across institutions and between providers. Pediatric oncology patients frequently fail to meet their growth curve percentiles, lose weight, and/or are malnourished due to both the oncologic process as well as side effects from chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Methods of increasing weight...