Background: Although some studies have explored the relationships between dietary fibre and enteral feeding intolerance in critically ill patients, the results are equivocal.
Objective: This study aimed to explore the effects of dietary fibre on enteral feeding intolerance and clinical outcomes in critically ill patients.
Methods: We searched five databases from inception to July 12, 2021. Data were expressed as mean difference or odds ratio with 95% confidence interval.
Results: Thirteen studies enrolled 709 critically ill patients included in the study. The results showed the dietary fibre group had a significantly decreased risk of diarrhea (OR: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.30,0.69, P < 0.001), regurgitation (OR: 0.28, 95%CI: 0.13, 0.60, P < 0.05), vomiting (OR: 0.40, 95%CI: 0.17, 0.92, P < 0.05), constipation (OR: 0.21, 95%CI: 0.09, 0.47, P < 0.001) and mortality (OR:0.34; 95%CI:-0.13, 0.91; P < 0.05) compared with the fibre free group. Besides, there was a significant decrease on time to reach full enteral nutrition (MD:-2.08; 95%CI:-4.05, -0.12; P < 0.05), the duration of the intensive care unit stay (MD:-4.62; 95%CI:-6.60, -2.64; P < 0.001) and hospital stay (MD:-6.42; 95%CI:-9.49, -3.36; P < 0.001) in the dietary fibre group.
Conclusions: Dietary fibre supplementation may significantly reduce the risk of enteral feeding intolerance and improve the clinical outcomes.
Keywords: Critically ill patients; Dietary fibre; Enteral feeding intolerance; Nursing.
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