ReviewCurrent gastroenterology reports2021
Fiber in the ICU: Should it Be a Regular Part of Feeding?
Review in Current gastroenterology reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- The efficacy of fiber-supplemented enteral nutrition in critically ill patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials with trial sequential analysis.Critical care (London, England) · 2024Pooled it
- The effects of dietary fiber on common complications in critically ill patients; with a special focus on viral infections; a systematic reveiw.Immunity, inflammation and disease · 2022Pooled it
- Gut dysbiosis‑derived butyrate loss predicts feeding intolerance: Multiomics evidence guiding nurse‑driven microbiota‑supportive interventions (Review).Molecular medicine reports · 2026Review
- Gut‑brain axis in anesthesia and critical illness: Molecular crosstalk and its impact on delirium and outcome (Review).International journal of molecular medicine · 2026Review
- Early Dietary Fiber Intake in ICU Patients and Its Associations with Acute Gastrointestinal Injury: A Prospective Observational Study.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2026Article
- From Ancient Enemas to Tube Feeding, I: History, Administration, and Nutritional Composition of Commercial Versus Food-Based Formulas in Critical Illness.American journal of critical care : an official publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses · 2025Review
- Association of early dietary fiber intake and mortality in septic patients with mechanical ventilation based on MIMIC IV 2.1 database: a cohort study.Nutrition journal · 2024Article
- [Immunomodulation by nutritional intervention in critically ill patients].Die Anaesthesiologie · 2023Review
- Enteral Nutrition Overview.Nutrients · 2022Review
- Management of gastrointestinal failure in the adult critical care setting.Current opinion in critical care · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purpose of reviewTo highlight the controversy of fiber use in the current critical care nutrition guidelines; review the effect of fiber on the gut microbiota in the critically ill; and examine the data on fiber and outcomes in the intensive care setting. RECENT
findingsFiber is increasingly recognized as a necessary component of colonic health and nutrition support. In critical illness there is a shift toward gut dysbiosis and immune dysregulation. Through fermentation and the generation of short-chain fatty acids, fiber has a role in maintaining intestinal homeostasis, immune function, and supporting commensal bacteria. In contrast to fermentable fiber, recent animal models suggest that non-fermentable fiber can also favorably alter intestinal homeostasis in a mechanism distinct from short chain fatty acids. In the critically ill, RCTs and meta-analyses suggest that soluble and mixed fiber supplemented enteral nutrition can reduce diarrhea and is well tolerated. Based on limited data, there may be benefits in reducing length of hospital stay, certain infections, and glucose metabolism. Nonetheless, the role of fiber enriched nutrition in critically ill patients is controversial as evident in the conflicting guidelines. Despite shortcomings in the literature, soluble and mixed fiber supplemented enteral nutrition is safe and beneficial in most hemodynamically stable intensive care patients. More research is necessary to determine optimal fiber composition.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.