Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the patients according to study group.
| Intermittent Feeding (n = 49) |
Continuous Feeding (n = 50) |
p-Value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 66.2 ± 12.7 | 67.5 ± 10.3 | 0.565 |
| Sex, male, n (%) | 33 (67.3) | 33 (66.0) | >0.999 |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 22.0 ± 3.9 | 23.3 ± 3.9 | 0.107 |
| Primary diagnosis, n (%) | 0.210 | ||
| Respiratory failure | 39 (79.6) | 43 (86.0) | |
| Cardiac arrest | 6 (12.2) | 2 (4.0) | |
| Sepsis or septic shock | 2 (4.1) | 4 (8.0) | |
| Other | 2 (4.1) | 1 (2.0) | |
| Comorbidities, n (%) | |||
| Cardiovascular disease | 16 (32.7) | 20 (40.0) | 0.582 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 15 (30.6) | 15 (30.0) | >0.999 |
| Chronic lung disease | 21 (42.9) | 17 (34.0) | 0.484 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 7 (14.3) | 10 (20.0) | 0.626 |
| Chronic liver disease | 7 (14.3) | 5 (10.0) | 0.730 |
| Malignancy | 21 (42.9) | 23 (46.0) | 0.911 |
| Immunodeficiency | 21 (42.9) | 19 (38.0) | 0.774 |
| Chronic neurologic disease | 6 (12.2) | 5 (10.0) | 0.972 |
| Median time from ICU admission to randomization (IQR), h | 15.9 (7.2–25.7) | 15.9 (7.5–23.4) | 0.552 |
| APACHE II score | 27.7 ± 9.3 | 28.6 ± 8.0 | 0.620 |
| SOFA score | 9.1 ± 4.4 | 8.6 ± 4.1 | 0.560 |
| Ongoing treatments at randomization, n (%) | |||
| Mechanical ventilation | 49 (100) | 50 (100) | >0.999 |
| Renal replacement therapy | 9 (18.4) | 8 (16.0) | 0.963 |
| Vasopressor therapy | 26 (53.1) | 23 (46.0) | 0.616 |
| Systemic corticosteroid therapy | 34 (69.4) | 28 (56.0) | 0.242 |
| Anti-infectious treatment | 47 (95.9) | 50 (100) | 0.466 |
| Sedative drugs | 29 (59.2) | 31 (62.0) | 0.935 |
| Analgesic drugs | 45 (91.8) | 45 (90.0) | >0.999 |
| Energy target (kcal/day) | 1380 ± 172 | 1426 ± 201 | 0.220 |
| Energy target per ideal body weight (kcal/kg/day) | 24.1 ± 2.9 | 24.7 ± 2.9 | 0.309 |
| Laboratory variables | |||
| Serum creatinine, mg/dL | 1.06 (0.64–1.85) | 1.08 (0.78–1.76) | 0.788 |
| Lactate, mmol/L | 2.2 (1.6–3.4) | 2.0 (1.5–3.9) | 0.841 |
| C-reactive protein, mg/dL | 13.4 (7.6–22.5) | 13.3 (5.0–25.7) | 0.975 |
| Serum albumin, mg/dL | 2.8 (2.4–3.0) | 2.6 (2.3–3.0) | 0.586 |
| Glucose, mg/dL | 167 (131–220) | 172 (115–237) | 0.804 |
APACHE = Acute Physiologic Assessment and Chronic Health Evaluation; ICU = intensive care unit; IQR = interquartile range; SOFA = Sequential Organ Failure Assessment.