Determination of Enteral Nutrition Complications and Influencing Factors in Patients with Enteral Feeding Pump in Intensive Care Unit

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the incidence of enteral nutrition complications and influencing factors in patients with enteral feeding pump in intensive care. Material and Methods: This descriptive study was carried out with 40 patients received enteral nutrition with one type of enteral feeding pump in medical and neurology intensive care units of a university hospital. Independent variables’, such as patients’ demographic data, duration of enteral nutrition, amount of feeding formula, type of enteral feeding, and route in patients with enteral nutrition, effects on complications were investigated in study. Results: It was determined that 62.5% of the patients were women and mean age was 66.17±16.19. Continuous feeding (90%) and nasogastric tube (72.5%) were mostly preferred in patients. Enteral nutrition related complications developed in 27.5% of patients. The most common complication was found as abdominal distension (7.5%) and the least were as aspiration (2.5%) and diarrhea (2.5%). There was no significant difference between patients’ age, gender, duration of enteral nutrition, amount of feeding formula, type of enteral feeding and incidence of enteral complications (p 0.05). However, there was a significant difference between route and complication frequency (p 0.05). Conclusion: It was determined that patients with enteral pumps had less frequent complications than literature and distension was the most observed complication. It is recommended that nurses should monitor patients with enteral feeding especially for distension.