ReviewFrontiers in nutrition2023
The effect of intermittent versus continuous enteral feeding for critically ill patients: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Review in Frontiers in nutrition, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 4 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
17 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of continuous versus intermittent enteral feeding on feeding tolerance in critically ill adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Intermittent versus continuous enteral nutrition in critically ill patients: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Intermittent enteral nutrition may increase gastrointestinal complications and mortality in critically ill patients.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- Clinical effects and safety of semi-solid feeds in tube-fed patients: a meta-analysis and systematic review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2024Pooled it
- Rationale and design of a PROBE trial comparing continuous enteral nutrition to time-restricted enteral nutrition in severe stroke.Stroke and vascular neurology · 2026Trial
- Does Intermittent Nutrition Enterally Normalise hormonal and metabolic responses to feeding in critically ill adults? The DINE-normal proof-of-concept study.Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland) · 2025Trial
- Effect of an Integrated Early Enteral Nutrition Management Protocol on Nutritional Target Attainment in Mechanically Ventilated ICU Patients: A Quasi-Experimental Study Guided by the MRC Framework.Nursing in critical care · 2026Article
- Interruptions of enteral nutrition in intensive care units: mechanisms, clinical impacts, and precision nursing interventions-a scoping review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- The influence of refined enteral nutrition intervention on nutritional status and feeding intolerance in critically ill stroke patients.Frontiers in neurology · 2026Article
- Impact of enteral feeding strategies on nosocomialFrontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Constipation in critically ill adults.World journal of gastrointestinal pathophysiology · 2025Review
- Article
- Personalized Nutrition Strategies for Patients in the Intensive Care Unit: A Narrative Review on the Future of Critical Care Nutrition.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Article
- Article
- Effectiveness of registered dietitian-led management of early nutritional support in the emergency intensive care unit: a retrospective observational study.BMC nutrition · 2024Article
- Bolus Versus Continuous Enteral Feeding for Critically Ill Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Cureus · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objectives: The appropriate strategy for enteral feeding in critically ill patients still remains controversial. Therefore, we conducted this meta-analysis to compare the effect of intermittent versus continuous enteral feeding method for critically ill patients. Methods: Electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane Library were searched up to April 10th, 2023 for randomized controlled trials evaluating the effect of intermittent versus continuous enteral feeding for critically ill patients. The primary outcomes were feeding intolerances, including diarrhea, vomiting, distension, constipation, gastric retention, and aspiration pneumonia. The secondary outcomes were mortality in intensive care unit (ICU), length of stay in ICU, and achievement of nutritional goal. Results: Thirteen studies with a total of 884 patients were analyzed in this meta-analysis. Overall, the use of intermittent enteral feeding was associated with higher incidence of diarrhea (OR 1.66, 95%CI 1.13 to 2.43, I Conclusion: In critically ill patients, the implementation of intermittent enteral feeding was associated with higher incidence of diarrhea and distension, longer length of ICU stay, but lower occurrence of constipation. Nevertheless, the absence of sufficient high-quality randomized controlled clinical trials precludes any definitive conclusions regarding the optimal approach to enteral feeding in this population. There is an imperative need for more studies to further assess the efficacy of the two enteral feeding strategies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.