NCT07131098

Early Enteral Feeding and Clinical Outcomes in ICU Patients

Effectiveness of an Early Enteral Feeding Protocol on Clinical Outcomes in Critically Ill Patients: A Quasi-experimental Study

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 80 (actual)
• Sponsor: Loai Muawiah Zabin · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This study evaluated the effectiveness of an early enteral feeding protocol in critically ill adult patients admitted to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The intervention involved initiating enteral nutrition within 24-48 hours of ICU admission. Clinical outcomes such as ICU length of stay, ventilator dependency, and selected laboratory values were compared between patients who received early enteral feeding and those who received standard nutritional care. The study was conducted at Jenin Governmental Hospital in Palestine between January and April 2024, with 80 adult participants.

Detailed description

This is a retrospectively registered, quasi-experimental study that investigated the clinical impact of implementing an early enteral feeding protocol in a critical care setting. Conducted in Jenin Governmental Hospital, Palestine, the research explored how protocolized early nutritional support affects physiological recovery and ICU-related outcomes in critically ill adult patients. The study was motivated by the well-established role of early enteral nutrition in maintaining gut integrity, supporting immune function, and reducing complications in ICU patients. Despite international guidelines recommending its use within 24-48 hours of ICU admission, early enteral feeding remains underutilized in many low-resource healthcare settings. Factors contributing to this gap include variability in clinical practice, limited institutional protocols, and staff training constraints. This investigation was carried out between January and April 2024 and followed rigorous ethical standards, with Institutional Review Board approval from Arab American University (Reference: R-2024/B/85/N). Patients were grouped based on the time period of admission into either a protocol-based early feeding group or a standard care group. Intervention fidelity was maintained through a pre-defined feeding protocol implemented by ICU staff after appropriate orientation and monitoring. The study contributes to the growing body of evidence supporting structured nutritional protocols in ICUs and highlights the feasibility and benefits of such interventions in middle-income and resource-constrained settings. The data gathered and analyzed provide a foundation for future policy development aimed at standardizing nutritional support for critically ill patients.

Conditions

• Critical Illness
• Enteral Nutrition
• Intensive Care Unit ICU
• Nutritional Support
• Feeding Protocol

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Early Enteral Feeding Protocol	Early enteral nutrition was initiated within 24-48 hours of ICU admission based on a structured protocol aligned with ASPEN and ESPEN guidelines. The protocol defined target caloric goals, methods of tube feeding initiation, rate advancement, and monitoring procedures. Nurses and ICU staff were trained in protocol implementation. The goal was to optimize nutrition early in critical illness to improve clinical outcomes such as ICU length of stay, ventilator dependence, and physiological stability.
OTHER	Standard Nutritional Care	Patients in the control group received standard nutritional care per routine hospital practices. Initiation and progression of feeding were left to the discretion of the attending physician and nursing staff, without the use of a structured protocol or defined early feeding timeline.

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-01-01
• Primary completion: 2024-04-30
• Completion: 2024-04-30
• First posted: 2025-08-20
• Last updated: 2025-08-20

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Palestinian Territories