Early enteral nutrition in critically-ill patients

Table 1 A summary of studies exploring the effect of early enteral nutrition in burns patients on a variety of outcomes including intensive care unit length of stay, infection rates and mortality rates

Ref.	Type of study	Study population	Outcomes
Wasiak et al[20], 2006	Cochrane analysis	-	No difference in all-cause mortality
			No difference in ICU length of stay
			No difference in adverse outcomes
Fuentes Padilla et al[21], 2019	Systematic review	-	No difference in mortality
			No difference in GI complications
Shahi et al [22], 2021	Retrospective review	132 pediatric burns patients	EEN has shorter length of ICU stay
			No difference in GI and infectious complications
Castanon et al[23], 2020	Retrospective RCT	324 geriatric burns patients with TBSA of 31%	EEN associated with lower mortality risk
			EEN had shorter length of ICU stay
Mosier et al[24], 2011	Retrospective cohort analysis	229 burns patients with TBSA of 46%	Early feeding associated with shorter ICU length of stay
			EEN had decreased wound infection rates
Yang et al[25], 2024	Systematic review	1066 severely burned patients	Decreased mortality in EEN
			EEN had less GI and infectious complications
			EEN had shorter length of stay

RCT: Randomized controlled trial; TBSA: Total body surface area; ICU: Intensive care unit; GI: Gastrointestinal; EEN: Early enteral nutrition.

Table 2 Summary of studies on the effects of early enteral nutrition in patients with cardiothoracic disorders including those in the intensive care unit

Ref.	Type of study	Study population	Outcomes
Zheng et al[44], 2025	Retrospective cohort study	1846 patients with cardiogenic shock	EEN was associated with improved survival outcomes and decreased length of hospitalization
Shen et al[45], 2024	Retrospective RCT	720 patients with 4 days or greater CTICU stay	EEN was associated with shorter length of hospital and ICU stay and reduced incidence of respiratory and blood infections
			Better glycemic control and reduced insulin needs
			No significant difference found in long-term survival
Efremov et al[46], 2017	Prospective RCT	40 mechanically ventilated, post-cardiac surgery patients who received either standard isocaloric EEN or calorie-dense, protein-rich EEN	EEN led to reduced requirements for parenteral nutrition
Lu et al[47], 2023	Retrospective review	65 patients, 42 of which received VV-ECMO and 23 whom received VA-ECMO	EEN safe and well-tolerated by patient’s receiving ECMO for more than 24 hours
			EEN associated with higher success rates of weaning off ECMO and reduced mortality
			Delayed EN group to had significantly higher feeding intolerance as compared with the EEN group

RCT: Randomized controlled trial; EEN: Early enteral nutrition; ICU: Intensive care unit; CTICU: Cardiothoracic intensive care unit; ECMO: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; VV-ECMO: Venovenous-extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; VA-ECMO: Venoarterial-extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

Table 3 A summary of studies on the effects of early enteral nutrition on pancreatitis and its outcomes

Ref.	Type of study	Study population	Outcomes
Li et al[49], 2013	Meta-analysis	11 studies involving 775 patients with acute pancreatitis	EEN associated with significant reduction in both pancreatic and systemic infections
			EEN associated with reduction in hospital length of stay
Song et al[50], 2018	Systematic review and meta-analysis	10 randomized controlled trials comparing EEN to late EN or TPN	Significant reduction in the rate of multiple organ failure, along with reduced rates of systemic infections and local septic complications in the EEN group
Liang et al[51], 2024	Systematic review and meta-analysis	20 trials including 2168 patients with acute pancreatitis	Reduced hospital length of stay and lower cost of hospitalization in the EEN group

EEN: Early enteral nutrition; EN: Enteral nutrition; TPN: Total parenteral nutrition.

Table 4 A summary of studies on a variety of surgical patients and the effects of early enteral nutrition on their recovery and other outcomes

Ref.	Type of study	Study population	Findings
Shu et al[75], 2016	Meta-analysis	1095 patients with digestive tract surgeries	Decrease in infectious and non-infectious complications in EEN
			No difference in hospital length of stay
Herbert et al[76], 2019	Cochrane systematic review	1437 patients with lower digestive tract surgeries	Shorter length of stay in hospital in EEN
			No difference in post-operative complications
			No difference in mortality
Burcharth et al[77], 2021	Cochrane systematic review	1309 patients with major abdominal surgery	Decrease in mortality in EEN
			No difference in post-operative complications
Chen et al[78], 2023	Retrospective analysis	121 patients with gastrointestinal tumors requiring surgery	Better post-operative nutritional status in EEN
			Faster recovery time in EEN
			Increased risk of adverse effects in EEN

EEN: Early enteral nutrition.