Background: The arguments about whether intermittent or continuous tube feeding was preferred in patients with hemorrhagic stroke exist yet. This study aimed to examine the effects of intermittent versus continuous tube feeding on its intolerance performance and efficiency of calorie intake.
Method: A convenience sample was selected from January 2018 to January 2019 in the Neurosurgery Department of West China Hospital, Sichuan Province. The participants were randomly allocated to either intermittent or continuous tube feeding group, fed four times or 24 h a day using electric feeding pump, respectively. The incidence of the intolerance and calorie intake were recorded and analyzed.
Results: 78 patients took part in this study: 40 in the intermittent group and 38 in the continuous group. The incidence of the diarrhea was significantly lower in the continuous group (7.9 vs 37.5%, p = 0.002). The total intolerance rate was significantly lower in the continuous group compared with the intermittent group (63.2 vs 85.0%, p = 0.027). There was no significant difference in calorie intake between the intermittent and continuous group during the first 3 days (2595.4 ± 394.5 kcal vs 2317.8 ± 645.1 kcal, p = 0.099). No significant difference in total calorie intake was found between two groups (6265.6 ± 1261.3 kcal vs 6429.4 ± 1452.4 kcal, p = 0.597).
Conclusion: Continuous tube feeding was an effective way to improve the tolerance of enteral nutrition. But no enough evidence was found to support the advantage in calorie intake of continuous tube feeding in this study.