title: Contamination of enteral feedings and diarrhea in patients in intensive care units.
abstract: To investigate the effect of contamination of enteral feeding solutions on the incidence of diarrhea in critically ill patients, 36 adult intensive and coronary care unit patients received enteral feeding by an aseptic or a routine protocol. Cultures of formula were obtained on the first 4 days of enteral feeding. A significantly greater incidence of contamination was found for the routine protocol group than for the aseptic protocol group (p less than 0.05); however, differences in incidence of diarrhea between subjects who did and did not receive contaminated formula were not significant. Subjects who had diarrhea also had significantly lower (p less than 0.05) serum albumin and transferrin levels. The effects of severity of illness, osmolality, and rate of formula administration on incidence of diarrhea were investigated, and these were not found to be significant factors. Implications for nursing practice and further research are generated.
authors.affiliation: University of Oklahoma College of Nursing, College of Medicine, Veterans Administration Medical Center.
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Mickschl
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Flournoy
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Parker
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000985:Antisepsis; D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology*; D004750:Enteral Nutrition / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000451:nursing; D005260:Female; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000032:analysis; D014168:Transferrin / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D012709:Serum Albumin; D014168:Transferrin