Provision of Enteral Nutrition in a Critically Ill Patient Requiring Multiple Prone Ventilation Sessions

Timely and adequate nutrition support in critical care is necessary to prevent metabolic deterioration and preserve lean body mass. However, providing enteral nutrition during prone ventilation carries certain risks. The potential for gastrointestinal intolerance and ventilator-associated pneumonia is a concern in this context. Furthermore, healthcare providers are often hesitant to start or continue enteral nutrition for patients in prone ventilation due to fears of gastrointestinal complications. Here we describe a case involving a 53-year-old male patient admitted to the critical care unit, diagnosed with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), requiring mechanical ventilation and multiple rounds of prone ventilation. Enteral feeding was initiated and increased to a maximum rate of 65 ml/hour, allowing the patient to meet his energy and protein needs while in prone ventilation. The feeding rate was well tolerated, with no adverse effects reported. Complete nutritional requirements could be satisfied even amid the demands of multiple prone ventilation sessions in a critically ill patient.

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Published in: Cureus
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
See article on publisher's website: https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.82101