Continuous ICU feeding showed no clear advantage over intermittent feeding
In critically ill adults receiving breathing support, randomized trials found no clear difference in hospital death risk or the reported secondary outcomes between stomach-feeding schedules.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
In critically ill adults receiving mechanical ventilation, continuous feeding into the stomach did not show a clear advantage over intermittent feeding for death during hospitalization. The review also detected no differences in intensive care stay, vomiting, diarrhea, or pneumonia. These uncertain comparisons do not establish that the schedules are equivalent for every patient or outcome.
Trials differed substantially in outcome selection, definitions, and reporting. This abstract-based account cannot resolve those differences, and the mortality interval remains compatible with either lower or higher risk under continuous feeding.
What researchers found
Death from any cause
During hospitalization, continuous versus intermittent gastric feeding: risk ratio 0.97 (95% confidence interval 0.72–1.32).
What schedules were compared
Continuous feeding supplies nutrition continuously, while intermittent feeding provides it at intervals. The review tested these schedules in ventilated intensive care patients, with death during hospitalization as the primary endpoint rather than a laboratory measurement.
Positioning evidence remains limited
A trial also paired intermittent feeding with a right-side tilt. Its mortality estimate was uncertain, so that comparison does not establish whether positioning improved outcomes or explains the overall findings across the included trials.
The original publication
Standard continuous feeding versus intermittent feeding among mechanically ventilated patients in intensive care: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Panwar R, Kumar N, Parikh H et al.
Clin Nutr · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40516326
- Record checked
AI-assisted research and writing. This explains one selected publication; it is not a complete review of everything known. Our approach.
One more question, understood.
Keep track of the research you’ve explored.