Effect of Two Different Feeding Methods on Preventing Ventilator Associated Pneumonia in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU): A Randomised Controlled Study

Background: For infants and children who require intubation in the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU), ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a significant cause of secondary morbidity and mortality linked with extended use of intubation. Nurses are primarily responsible for the prevention of VAP and there are a number of procedures that contribute towards this end. Although enteral nutrition has been reported to be effective in the prevention of VAP, this remains controversial.

Objective: To compare and evaluate the effects of intermittent feeding through a nasogastric catheter with those of continuous feeding through a nasoduodenal catheter in preventing VAP in the PICU.

Design: The research design was a randomised, controlled experimental study.

Methods: Forty paediatric patients were randomised and divided into two groups of 20: one group for nasoduodenal (ND) feeding and the other for nasogastric (NG) feeding. Patients were assessed for the development of VAP using the clinical pulmonary infection score and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria while working in accordance with the VAP prevention bundles introduced within the unit.

Results: The incidence of paediatric VAP was 15%. The rate of VAP in patients who were ND fed was 10%, whereas the rate of VAP in patients who had NG feeding was 20%. No statistically significant difference was observed between the ND- and NG-fed patients (p=0.661).

Conclusion: Although the results of our study were not statistically significant, nasoduodenal feeding helped to reduce the incidence of VAP.