[Changing laws of rest energy expenditure in critically ill patients and the intervention effect for nutritional...

To investigate the changing laws of rest energy expenditure (REE) in intensive care unit (ICU) patients and the intervention effect for nutritional support.

A prospective randomized control trial was conducted. Fifty-eight critically ill patients who were expected to be able to receive sustained enteral and (or) parenteral nutrition for more than 7 days admitted to ICU of the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College from December 2016 to June 2017 were enrolled. The patients were divided into REE group (n = 29) and HBREE group (n = 29) according to the random number table. On the 1st to 7th day after ICU admission, the indirect calorimetry and the Harris-Benedict (HB) formula were used to obtain the REE and HBREE values, and nutritional support was given according to REE and HBREE values respectively. The data of hemoglobin (Hb), albumin (Alb), prealbumin (PA), C-reactive protein (CRP), oxygenation index (OI) on 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th and discharged day, and insulin dosage, vasopressor time, mechanical ventilation time, the length of ICU stay, and 28-day mortality were collected.

(1) At the beginning, the REE level was high, and then decreased gradually with the extension of hospitalization, and the decline was obvious on the 2nd to 3rd day (kJ/d: 7 088.38±559.41, 6 751.34±558.72 vs. 7 553.44±645.55, both P < 0.05), and was stable from the 5th day, the changing laws showed high at first, then the low, the first rapid decline, then the slow decline, and then reached the steady, there was a 2-day plateau in the middle. During the first 2 days, the REE value was significantly higher than the HBREE value (kJ/d: 7 553.44±645.55 vs. 6 759.21±668.14, 7 088.38±559.41 vs. 6 759.21±668.14, both P < 0.01); on the 3rd, 4th day, the REE value was almost the same as the HBREE value (kJ/d: 6 751.34±558.72 vs. 6 759.21±668.14, 6 568.03±760.19 vs. 6 759.21±668.14, both P > 0.05). After that, the REE value was significantly lower than the HBREE value (kJ/d: 6 089.55±560.70 vs. 6 759.21±668.14, 5 992.55±501.82 vs. 6 759.21±668.14, 5 860.84±577.59 vs. 6 759.21±668.14, all P < 0.01). (2) After the initiation of nutritional support, Hb in the REE group (the first 3 days) and HBREE group (the first 7 days) all increased slowly in the early stage. It increased obviously on the 5th day in the REE group. Compared with the REE group, Hb increased more slowly in the HBREE group, however, there was no difference between the two groups at the time of discharge (g/L: 113.75±17.28 vs. 110.86±15.35, P > 0.05). PA and OI all enhanced significantly on the 3rd day since the nutritional support was initiated, but the daily increase of the REE group was significantly higher than that of the HBREE group [3rd day, PA (mg/L): 110.38±27.65 vs. 96.28±18.06, OI (mmHg, 1 mmHg = 0.133 kPa): 259.29±49.36 vs. 231.74±28.02, both P < 0.05]. The Alb and CRP in the REE group began to improve on the 3rd day, while the index in the HBREE group was delayed on the 5th day, overall, at the time of discharge, the PA, CRP and OI were lower in the HBREE group than in the REE group [PA (mg/L): 252.28±56.94 vs. 295.86±57.26, CRP (mg/L): 73.14±17.63 vs. 56.52±14.91, OI (mmHg): 353.59±70.36 vs. 417.52±71.58, all P < 0.01]. (3) The vasopressor was used in both groups for less than 3 days, but the REE group was shorter (days: 2.26±0.82 vs. 2.95±1.22, P < 0.05), the insulin dosage in the HBREE group was much more than that in the REE group (U: 101.97±21.05 vs. 84.59±22.21, P < 0.01); compared with the REE group, the time of mechanical ventilation and the length of ICU stay in the HBREE group were longer (hours: 113.07±25.96 vs. 93.41±27.25, days: 10.41±3.11 vs. 8.45±2.44, both P < 0.01). There was no significant difference in the 28-day mortality between the REE group and HBREE group (17.24% vs. 24.14%, P > 0.05).

Indirect calorimetry can more accurately grasp the changing laws of REE in critically ill patients. Nutritional support with REE value can make relevant nutritional indicators as good as possible, and reduce insulin dosage, shorten vasopressor use time, the length of ICU stay and mechanical ventilation time, but does not change the 28-day mortality.