Does the supplementation of the formula with fibre increase the risk of gastro-oesophageal reflux during enteral nutrition?: A human study

Background & Aims: Fibre-supplements in enteral feeding could increase the risk of gastro-oesophageal reflux (GOR). The aim of this study was to assess in humans the physiological effects of the supplementation of the enteral diet with different types of dietary fibre on gastro-oesophageal reflux episodes, gastric acidity and gastric emptying. Methods: pH profiles were compared in 12 healthy volunteers between three different formula (500 kcal, 250 mL.h(-1)) delivered in a random order and containing either no fibre, either soy polysaccharide fibre only or mixed fibre from pea and inuline. Enteral diets were instilled through a nasogastric tube. Oesophageal and gastric pH recordings were combined with the ultrasound measurement of gastric antral area during the infusion. Results: More GOR were observed with a fibre-free diet (median 4, range 1-10) than with a mixed (median 1.5, range 0-5) (P = 0.04) or soy polysaccharide fibre (median 1.5, range 0-5) (P = 0.04) diet. The median duration of GOR was longer with the mixed fibre (median 3.6, range 1.8-7.2) than with the fibre-free diet (mean 1.8 min, range 1-3.6) (P < 0.05). The number of GOR episodes lasting more than 5 min, the duration of the longest GOR and the percent of time under pH 4 were not significantly different with the three diets. The intragastric pH profile and the ultrasound antral area were not different with all three diets. Conclusions: Addition of fibre to the enteral formula had limited effects on the onset of GOR episodes. It decreased the number of GOR but increased their duration. These effect were more pronounced with the formula containing soluble fibre. At variance, the addition of fibre had no significant effect on gastric emptying and gastric acid secretion. (C) 2001 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.