Neurologic Injury, Traumatic Brain Injury
Conditions
Brief summary
Nutrition is an important part of the recovery process after having a head injury so that subjects can gain strength and fight off infection. Liquid nutrition formulas are often given to patients through a tube that has been placed into the intestines for feeding when they are unable to eat on their own. Some reports suggest that nutrition with extra amounts of the amino acid called glutamine may decrease infections and hospital stay in severely injured patients.The purpose of this study is to evaluate if giving extra amounts of an amino acid called glutamine with liquid nutrition formulas will decrease the risk of infection and length of stay in the intensive care unit after having a head injury.
Interventions
DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTEnteral glutamine powder
nutritional supplement
OTHERplacebo
placebo control
Sponsors
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
FACTORIAL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Investigator)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 75 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Males * Nonpregnant females * Aged 18-75 years old * Glasgow Coma Scores of 3-12 * Injury Severity Scores greater than or equal to 20 * Requiring enteral nutrition for a minimum of 5 days
Exclusion criteria
* Documented hepatic dysfunction * Acute renal failure (creatinine clearance \< 15 mL/min) * Gastrointestinal malabsorptive disorder * Infection at time of admission
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Nosocomial infections | throughout study |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome | throughout the study |
| Nutritional outcome parameters | throughout the study |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed