Post-pyloric versus gastric enteral nutrition in critically ill children - a single-center retrospective cohort study.

Achieving 60% of EN goal in critically ill children is associated with improved clinical outcomes. Enteral nutrition delivery however is often limited by EN intolerance. In this study, using a propensity-score matched analysis, we show than post-pyloric tube fed patients achieved 60% of their prescribed enteral goal 5 days earlier and received an average of 40% more of their EN goal in their first 3 days of nutrition delivery compared to gastric fed patients. This study suggests that the use of post-pyloric feeding as a first approach and as guided by a nutrition algorithm can result in improved EN delivery as long as there are no delays in tube placement and EN initiation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.