[Incidence of gastrointestinal complications during enteral feeding. Results of a protocol].

Enteral nutrition (EN) is a nutritional support technique that has been shown to be an effective alternative to total parenteral nutrition (TPN) in critical patients, unless absolute contraindications exist. This study quantified, evaluated and assessed tolerance of EN by critically ill patients and gastrointestinal (GI) complications secondary to EN. We compared continuous EN without interruption (WI) and EN with a 7-hour nightly rest (NR). Sixty-nine patients were assigned randomly to WI or NR. The complications observed were diarrhea, increased residue, vomiting and/or regurgitation, and constipation. The results disclosed no significant differences between the WI and NR groups for any variable measured. We conclude that the frequency of GI complications was no higher, as shown by the results of the EN protocol established in our unit, so we consider this to be an optimal system for artificial feeding of patients in the critical phase.