Current opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care
-
Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care · Mar 2011
ReviewManaging gastric residual volumes in the critically ill patient: an update.
Gastric residual volumes (GRVs) remain a major deterrent to adequately feeding patients with gastric-delivered enteral nutrition. The purpose of this review was to define the most up-to-date consensus of the utility of the use of GRVs for monitoring tube-feeding intolerance in gastric-fed patients. ⋯ Large GRVs usually result from some impediment in gastrointestinal motility (e.g. gastroparesis). There are numerous methods for measuring GRVs, most of which have not been standardized. It appears that there is little correlation between large GRVs and the development of aspiration pneumonia when tube feeding patients. Prokinetic agents have an inconsistent effect on the GRV size. US guidelines state that GRVs of less than 500 ml should not result in termination of enteral feeding. Allowing larger GRVs will allow patients to receive more calories when gastric fed without a deleterious clinical impact. The use of GRVs as a marker of feeding tolerance is of questionable utility.