Skip to main content
. 2018 Jun 8;2018(6):CD012276. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012276.pub2

Engel 1997.

Methods RCT, single‐centre, 3‐arm, parallel design
Participants Number of randomized participants: 20
Inclusion criteria
  1. APACHE II score > 10, requiring ≥ 7 days of nutritional support, 18 to 65 years of age


Exclusion criteria
  1. Abdominal injury

  2. Gastrointestinal stenosis

  3. Liver or renal insufficiency

  4. High catecholamine requirement

  5. Acute or severe pancreatitis

  6. Post‐transplantation surgery

  7. Taking cortisone medication

  8. Immunosuppressant therapy and autoimmune illnesses


Primary diagnoses
  1. Multiple trauma


Baseline characteristics
EN group (standard)
  1. Age, mean (SD): 41 (± 16) years

  2. Gender, M/F: 10/0

  3. APACHE II, mean (SD): 16.3 (± 4.5)


EN group (supplemented)
  1. Age, mean (SD): 33 (± 13) years

  2. Gender M/F: 8/2

  3. APACHE II, mean (SD): 15.7 (± 4.4)


PN group
  1. Mean age: 32 (SD ± 10) years

  2. Gender M/F: 7/3

  3. Mean APACHE II: 16.3 (SD ± 3.1)


Country: Germany
Setting: ICU
Interventions EN group (standard)
n = 10; 0 losses
Details: nasojejunal tube with feeding pump, feeding started within 24 hours of trauma, "Oligopeptide standard diet" (Survimed OPD, Frensenius). Target energy of 25 kcal/kg/day. Initial rate of 25 mL/hour. Infusion rate increased at rate of 25 mL/hour up to the 4th day and a minimum of 75 mL/hour.
Caloric intake received: not reported
EN group (supplemented)
n = 10; 0 losses
Details: nasojejunal tube with feeding pump, feeding started within 24 hours of trauma. Formula consisted of Impact (Fa. Sandoz), supplemented with arginine, omega‐3 fatty acids, nucleotide, and selenium. Target energy of 25 kcal/kg/day. Initial rate of 25 mL/hour. Infusion rate increased at rate of 25 mL/hour up to the 4th day and a minimum of 75 mL/hour.
Caloric intake received: not reported
PN group
n = 10; 0 losses
Details: isocaloric and isonitrogenous total PN
Caloric intake received: not reported
Outcomes
  1. Septic complications (diagnosed according to the ACCP/SCCM definitions)

  2. Immunological measurements

Notes Funding/declarations of interest: not reported
Study dates: not reported
Note: for the purpose of review analysis, we combined data for the 2 EN groups.
Risk of bias
Bias Authors' judgement Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias) Unclear risk Described as randomized but no additional details
Allocation concealment (selection bias) Unclear risk No details
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) 
 All outcomes High risk No details and we assumed investigators made no attempts to blind personnel
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) 
 All outcomes (except mortality) Unclear risk No details
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) 
 Mortality Low risk No details. Lack of blinding unlikely to influence outcome data for mortality
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) 
 All outcomes Low risk No apparent losses
Selective reporting (reporting bias) Unclear risk Clinical trials registration of prospectively published protocol not reported; not feasible to assess risk of reporting bias
Baseline characteristics Low risk Appear comparable
Other bias Low risk No other sources of bias identified