The Influence of Polymeric Versus Oligomeric Enteral Feeding on Tolerance and Nutritional Status in Paediatric Intensive Care

Malnutrition is associated with negative impact on morbidity and mortality of critically ill patients. Therefore, in patients unable of peroral intake, the nutritional support is indicated. The preferred form of nutritional support is enteral, the more natural form, compared to parenteral. The enteral nutrition is cheaper and is associated with better outcomes and lower incidence of associated complications. The intolerance of enteral feeding is common in critically ill patients, and is associated with insufficient energy and protein intake, that could be linked with the complications such aspiration pneumonia. The optimization of enteral feeding tolerance is therefore one of the research priorities. Implementation of feeding protocols is associated with better tolerance. The enteral feeding could be administered as a oligomeric or polymeric formula. The are preliminary data from adult population pointing at better tolerance of oligomeric feeding formula.