SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Benefits of Early Implementation of Enteral Feeding in Ventilated COVID-19 Patients: A Systematic Review of Current Literature
Kelsey Dakota Tucker1, Steven Wesley Johnson1, *, Teresa Johnson2, John Hurt1
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2022Volume: 2
E-location ID: e266695872208230
Publisher ID: e266695872208230
DOI: 10.2174/26669587-v2-e2208230
Article History:
Received Date: 2/2/2022Revision Received Date: 15/6/2022
Acceptance Date: 29/6/2022
Electronic publication date: 16/11/2022
Collection year: 2022

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Introduction:
COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) has swept destruction across the world and continues to cause significant morbidity and mortality. For critically ill patients requiring mechanical ventilation enteral feeding is typically required for nutritional support.
Method:
Due to the novelty of this virus, protocols have been aimed to mimic Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) patient nutritional support. There is limited data around the benefits of early enteral nutritional support for mechanically ventilated patients.
Result:
Data from two studies evaluated the use of enteral nutrition protocols in critically ill COVID-19 patients and revealed only minor significant differences in hospital course between early and late enteral feeding. There were better outcomes overall for COVID-19 patients who were able to tolerate enteral feeding compared to patients who were intolerant of enteral feeding.
Conclusion:
Future studies involving a baseline nutritional assessment may help clinicians better understand the role of early enteral nutrition support among mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients.