PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to investigate the nutritional support, gastric residual volume, and nutritional status of the intensive care unit (ICU) patients on enteral feeding.
METHODS
A descriptive longitudinal design was used to collect 5 day data on enteral nutrition of 52 ICU patients in an university hospital. Nutritional support was calculated with actual caloric intake compared to individual caloric requirement. Residual volumes were measured prior to routine feedings, and the serum albumin levels and the total lymphocyte counts were checked to evaluate nutritional status. The data were analyzed using one group repeated measures ANOVA, paired t-test, and Spearman's bivariate correlation analysis.
RESULTS
The subjects received their first enteral feeding on the 5.75th day of ICU admission. The mean nutritional support rate was 49.1% of the requirement, however prescription rate and support rate were increased as time goes by. Gastric residual volumes were less than 10 cc in 95% cases. A significant negative correlation was found between nutritional support and nutritional status.
CONCLUSION
The nutritional support for ICU patient was low compared to the requirement, and their nutritional status was worse than at the time of ICU admission. Further studies are necessary to develop nursing interventions for improving nutritional support for ICU patients.

Citations

• Comparison of the nutritional indicators of critically Ill patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygen (ECMO)
  Nah-Mee Shin, Suk Yeon Ha, Yoon Soo Cho
  Journal of Nutrition and Health.2021; 54(5): 489.     CrossRef
• The effect of nutritional supply on clinical outcomes and nutritional status in critically ill patients receiving continuous renal replacement therapy
  Ju Yeun Kim, Ji-Myung Kim, Yuri Kim
  Journal of Nutrition and Health.2015; 48(3): 211.     CrossRef