Early versus delayed enteral nutrition in mechanically ventilated patients with circulatory shock: a nested cohort analysis of an international multicenter, pragmatic clinical trial

Introduction Real-world evidence on the timing and efficacy of enteral nutrition (EN) practices in intensive care unit (ICU) patients with circulatory shock is limited. We hypothesized early EN (EEN), as compared to delayed EN (DEN), is associated with improved clinical outcomes in mechanically ventilated (MV) patients with circulatory shock. Methods We analyzed a dataset from an international, multicenter, pragmatic randomized clinical trial (RCT) evaluating protein dose in ICU patients. Data were collected from ICU admission, and EEN was defined as initiating < 48 h from ICU admission and DEN > 48 h. We identified MV patients in circulatory shock to evaluate the association between the timing of EN initiation and clinical outcomes. The regression analysis model controlled for age, mNUTRIC score, APACHE II score, sepsis, and Site. Results We included 626 patients, from 52 ICUs in 14 countries. Median age was 60 years [18-93], 55% had septic shock, 99% received norepinephrine alone, 91% received EN alone, and 50.3% were randomized to a usual protein dose. Forty-two percent of EEN patients had persistent organ dysfunction syndrome plus death at day 28, compared to 53% in the DEN group (p = 0.04). EEN was associated with more ICU-free days (9.3 +/- 9.2 vs. 5.7 +/- 7.9, p = 0.0002), more days alive and free of vasopressors (7.1 +/- 3.1 vs. 6.3 +/- 3.2, p = 0.007), and shorter duration of MV among survivors (9.8 +/- 10.9 vs. 13.8 +/- 14.5, p = 0.0002). This trend was no longer observed in the adjusted analysis. There were no differences in ICU/60-day mortality or feeding intolerance rates between groups. Conclusion In MV patients with circulatory shock, EEN, as compared to DEN, was associated with improved clinical outcomes, but no longer when adjusting for illness severity. RCTs comparing the efficacy of EEN to DEN in MV patients with circulatory shock are warranted.

Automated summary

Real-world evidence on the timing and efficacy of enteral nutrition practices in ICU patients with circulatory shock is limited. This study found that early enteral nutrition was associated with improved clinical outcomes in mechanically ventilated patients with circulatory shock.