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Daytime Cyclic Enteral Nutrition Versus Standard Continuous Enteral Nutrition in the Intensive Care Unit: a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Daytime Cyclic Enteral Nutrition Versus Standard Continuous Enteral Nutrition in the Intensive Care Unit: a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05627167
Acronym
DC-SCENIC
Enrollment
318
Registered
2022-11-25
Start date
2023-06-01
Completion date
2025-02-17
Last updated
2025-03-24

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Enteral Nutrition

Keywords

Intensive Care, Enteral nutrition, Organ Failure

Brief summary

Critical care patients experience systemic aggression, which may be the result of trauma, infection or other systemic inflammatory mechanisms. The initial phase of their illness is characterized by metabolic instability and increased catabolism. Nutrition goals in these patients are therefore, on the one hand, to provide sufficient caloric intake to cover energy expenditure while limiting the risks of inappropriate under-feeding, overfeeding- or re-feeding syndrome, and on the other hand, to meet the protein requirements linked to hypercatabolism. In the absence of contraindication, current recommandations state that an intensive care patient who cannot be fed orally, shoul receive continuous enteral nutrition over 24 hours by gastric tube within 48 hours of admission. However, this 24-hour continuous nutrition method does not correspond to the physiological habit of the human species which includes a physiological nighttime fasting period.This fasting period induces a metabolic switch that regulates several pathways, including glycemic control, oxidative stressresistance and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) repair. Furthermore, it takes part un the synchronization of cellular circadian rhythms. Investigator hypothetises that diurnal cyclic enteral nutrition may improve the prognosis of severe intensive care patients compared to continuous enteral nutrition.

Interventions

OTHERday time cyclic nutrition

Continuous isocaloric enteral feeding (1kcal/ml) with 4g of protein per 100 mL for 10 hours during the day (e.g. 08:00 to 18:00), via nasal or oro-gastric tube

OTHERcontinuous nutrition

Isocaloric enteral feeding (1kcal/ml) with 4g of protein per 100ml, continuously 24 hours a day by nasal or oro-gastric tube

Sponsors

Centre Hospitalier le Mans
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Patient aged 18 years and over admitted to intensive care * On invasive mechanical ventilation for less than 24 hours * With an indication for exclusive enteral feeding by naso- or oro-gastric tube * With an expected remaining duration of mechanical ventilation \> 72 hours

Exclusion criteria

* Enteral feeding via tube already started * Parenteral nutrition in progress or deemed necessary by the practitioner * Active digestive haemorrhage as evidenced by fibroscopy or with need for transfusion * Digestive surgery less than one month old * History of mesenteric ischaemia * History of gastrectomy, oesophagectomy, duodenopancreatectomy, bariatric surgery, short bowel syndrome * Pregnant, lactating or parturient woman * Body mass index \< 18 kg/m2 * Person deprived of liberty by judicial or administrative decision, person under forced psychiatric care, person under legal protection (guardianship or curatorship) * Lack of social security coverage * Lack of consent or emergency procedure form * Patient participating in another randomised clinical research study on feeding of resuscitation patients

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change of organ failuresDay 7Change is measured by evolution of the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score at D7 compared with D0 in both groups

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Proportion of patients achieving > 80% of their recommended caloric intake at D7Day 7
Average daily protein intakeDay 1 to Day 7Average daily protein intake in grams
VomitingDay 1 to Day 10Number of days with vomiting (passage of nutrition into the mouth or the endoctracheal tube)
DiarrheaDay 1 to Day 10Number of days with more than four episodes of liquid stools
ConstipationDay 1 to Day 10Number of stool free days
Intestinal ischemiaDay 1 to Day 10Number of patients suffering an episode of intestinal ischemia
Ventilator acquired pneumoniaDay 1 to Day 10Number of episodes of ventilator acquired pneumonias
Insulin consumptionDay 1 to Day 7Average insulin consumption expressed in international units per kg per day
Average daily caloric intakeDay 1 to Day 7Average daily caloric intake from enteral nutrition
HypoglycemiaDay 1 to Day 7Number of days with at least one capillary blood glucose \< 0.6 g/L
KetonemiaDay 1 to Day 7Average capillary ketonemia measured in the morning before the start of a new feeding cycle
BilirubinDay 1 to Day 7Average total plasma bilirubin levels measured in the morning before the start of a new feeding cycle
UreaDay 1 to Day 7Average plasma urea levels measured in the morning before the start of a new feeding cycle
MortalityAt Day 28Whether patient is alive or dead
Days without mechanical ventilationDay 1 to Day 28Number of days without mechanical ventilation at D28
Days intubatedDay 1 to Day 28Number of days during the ICU stay where the patient received invasive mechanical ventilation
LactatemiaDay 1 to Day 7Mean lactatemia measured before the start of a new feeding cycle

Countries

France

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 7, 2026