Enteral feeding practices in infants with
congenital heart disease across European PICUs :
a European Society of Pediatric and Neonatal
Intensive Care survey

Tume, LN; Balmaks, R; da Cruz, E; Latten, L; Verbruggen, S; Valla, F

Abstract

Objectives: To describe enteral feeding practices in pre and
postoperative infants with congenital heart disease in European
PICUs.
Design: Cross-sectional electronic survey.
Setting: European PICUs that admit infants with congenital heart
disease pre- and postoperatively.
Participants: One senior PICU physician or designated person
per unit.
Interventions: None.
Measurements and Main Results: Fifty-nine PICUs from 18 European
countries responded to the survey. PICU physicians were
involved in the nutritional care of children with congenital heart
disease in most (76%) PICUs, but less than 60% of units had
a dedicated dietician. Infants with congenital heart disease were
routinely fed preoperatively in only 63% of the PICUs, due to ongoing
concerns around prostaglandin E1 infusion, the presence of
umbilical venous and/or arterial catheters, and the use of vasoactive
drugs. In three quarters of the PICUs (76%), infants were routinely
fed during the first 24 hours postoperatively. Units cited, the
most common feeding method, both pre and postoperatively, was
intermittent bolus feeds via the gastric route. Importantly, 69% of
European PICUs still did not have written guidelines for feeding,
but this varied for pre and postoperative patients.
Conclusions: Wide variations in practices exist in the nutritional
care between European PICUs, which reflects the absence of
local protocols and scientific society-endorsed guidelines. This is
likely to contribute to suboptimal energy delivery in this particularly
vulnerable group. (

Citation

Intensive Care survey. Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, 19(2), 137-144. https://doi.org/10.1097/PCC.0000000000001412

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2018
• Deposit Date: Sep 9, 2019
• Journal: Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
• Print ISSN: 1529-7535
• Publisher: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
• Volume: 19
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 137-144
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/PCC.0000000000001412
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/PCC.0000000000001412
• Related Public URLs: https://journals.lww.com/pccmjournal/pages/default.aspx