Promoting enteral tube feeding safety and performance in preterm infants: A systematic review

Abstract

Background: Enteral tube feeding is commonly used in preterm infants to provide enteral nutrition. Nurses play a crucial role in promoting feeding safety and performance.

Objectives: The aims of this systematic review were to identify nursing practices regarding feeding safety and performance promotion in preterm infants with enteral tube feeding and summarize evidence on the effectiveness of these practices.

Methods: A comprehensive search was performed in six databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Scopus). Studies on nursing practices aimed at promoting feeding safety and performance in preterm infants with enteral tube feeding were included. Risk of bias was assessed using the revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials (RoB 2) for randomized controlled studies and the tool of risk-of-bias in non-randomized studies of interventions (ROBINS-I) for non-randomized studies of interventions. A narrative synthesis strategy was employed to gather evidence and analyze data.

Results: 61 studies (47 randomized controlled studies and 14 quasi-experimental studies) covering seven categories of practices were included. The identified nursing practices included controlling feeding interval, selecting feeding position, monitoring gastric residual, disposing of gastric residual, managing feeding temperature, feeding promotion stimulation, and supplementary methods during the transition from tube to oral feeding. Evidence supported the effectiveness of oro-motor stimulation and non-nutritive sucking as feeding performance promotion strategies in preterm infants. Other practices were suggested to be used cautiously or recommended to be further studied due to limited evidence.

Conclusions: The review identified seven categories of nursing practices in promoting feeding safety and performance in preterm infants receiving enteral tube feeding. Oro-motor stimulation and non-nutritive sucking can be used in clinical settings to promote feeding performance in preterm infants with enteral tube feeding. Other practices will continue to be dictated by local preferences and cost factors until more robust evidence becomes available.

Registration: PROSPERO database (CRD42020196256).

Keywords: Enteral nutrition; Enteral tube feeding; Neonatal care; Preterm infant; Systematic review.