Continuous versus intermittent tube feeding after feeding jejunostomy, a pilot randomized controlled trial

Feeding jejunostomy is employed in cases of upper gastrointestinal tract disorders; nonetheless, there are limited guidelines about post-procedural feeding approaches. This study aims to examine the effects of continuous and intermittent feeding strategies on time to achieve full feeding, gastrointestinal adverse events, and metabolic alterations following jejunostomy surgery.

This randomized controlled pilot non-inferiority trial included 40 people with diseases of the upper GI tract who had a feeding jejunostomy at Chiang Mai University Hospital. The patients were not blinded and were randomly split into two groups using the block-of-four method. After completion of recruitment, 18 patients in the continuous feeding group and 20 patients in the intermittent feeding group (5 separated meals in 15 min each) were included in the final analysis. The primary outcome was determined based on the time to achieve complete feeding (30 ml/kg/day). The secondary outcome includes the presence of adverse gastrointestinal symptoms and any metabolic alterations.

There were no statistically significant differences in the time taken to achieve a full feed in continuous and intermittent (48 ± 0 h. vs. 50.4 ± 5.6 h, p = 0.080) or as regards gastrointestinal adverse events, abdominal discomfort (27.8 vs. 30.0 %) and diarrhea (5.6 vs. 10 %) (p = 1.000). The metabolic outcome also showed no difference between the two groups.

There was no significant difference between continuous and intermittent feeding in terms of the time required to achieve a full feed, gastrointestinal adverse events such as abdominal discomfort and diarrhea, or metabolic changes.

TCTR20241008004; Thai Clinical Trials Registry.