Background and objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the application of the improved B-ultrasound method (hereafter referred to as B method) for measuring the antral section to evaluate gastric motility in guiding EN for patients with sepsis.
Methods and study design: In this single-center, non-blinded, randomized controlled trial, 64 patients with sepsis were randomly enrolled from January 2018 to December 2019. The improved B method (study group) and physicians' clinical experience (control group) were used to guide EN. The two groups patients were separated randomly both.
Results: Compared with the control group, the study group had a significantly shorter EN start time, faster initial rate of EN, lower incidence of EN interruption, and shorter Tmax (p<0.05,95% confidence intervals.) and exhibited lower incidences of adverse reactions (p<0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated that the study group exhibited significantly fewer adverse EN complications (p=0.029), shorter MV duration, and decreased ICU stay and in-hospital mortality (p<0.05).
Conclusions: The improved B method could perform real-time monitoring of gastric function. Additionally, compared with the physician's personal clinical experience, the improved B method exhibits a better effect in guiding EN for patients with sepsis.