Oro-esophageal feeding for tracheostomized patients with severe traumatic brain injury: a randomized controlled trial.
Dandan Lv, Hongyan Liu, Jing Zhao et al.
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In 30 seconds
This randomized controlled trial evaluated the effects of intermittent oro-esophageal tube feeding (IOE) compared to nasogastric tube feeding (NGT) in tracheostomized patients with severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI). Conducted in China with 104 participants, the study found that IOE significantly improved nutritional status, reduced aspiration pneumonia, and enhanced decannulation rates, with a hazard ratio of 5.556 for decannulation outcomes.
Key findings
- IOE improved hemoglobin levels by β = 5.272 (95% CI: 2.707, 7.837).
- IOE resulted in a significant reduction in aspiration pneumonia with an odds ratio of 0.304 (95% CI: 0.133, 0.693).
- Decannulation was significantly influenced by feeding method, with a hazard ratio of 5.556 (95% CI: 3.197, 9.657).
- IOE led to improved levels of consciousness as measured by the Glasgow Coma Scale (β = 0.981, 95% CI: 0.572, 1.390).
Why it matters
The findings suggest that oro-esophageal feeding may offer significant advantages over nasogastric feeding in improving nutritional outcomes and reducing complications in tracheostomized patients with severe traumatic brain injury, which could inform clinical feeding practices in this population.