No abstract

The incidence of gastroesophageal reflux (GER) in critically ill patients as well as the effect of a nasogastric tube (NGT) and body position as risk factors for GER were determined. Seventy patients with orotracheal intubation receiving enteral nutrition through a NGT for more than 48 hours were prospectively studied with two randomly assigned body positions: supine or semirecumbent. Detection of GER was achieved by scintigraphy after labeling gastric contents with 500 microCi of technetium-99m sulfur colloid administered through the NGT. In 50 patients scintigraphy was performed after subjects had remained in the randomized position for 2 hours with the NGT pinched. Twenty additional patients were studied after the NGT had been removed. In 50 patients with NGT, GER was present in 74% (37 of 50) and was higher in the supine position (81%, 21 of 26) than in the semirecumbent position (67%, 16 of 24), but this difference was not statistically significant (p = .26). In 20 patients without NGT, the incidence of GER was 35% (7 of 20) and it was also higher in the supine (50%, 6 of 12) than in the semirecumbent position (12%, 1 of 8, p = .16). There was a statistically significant difference between GER in patients with and without NGT (74% vs 35%, p = .0002). These data show that there is a high incidence of GER in patients with orotracheal intubation and NGT. The presence of a NGT is a risk factor for GER. Semirecumbency does not prevent GER, but there is less incidence than in the supine position.

These results indicate that trauma patients present a dysregulation of the innate immune system that persists during the first 14 days after hospital admission.

There was no benefit with i.v. L-alanyl-L-glutamine dipeptide supplementation (0.5 g/kg body weight/day of the dipeptide) during 5 days in trauma patients admitted to the ICU. The i.v. glutamine supplementation was not enough to normalize the plasma glutamine levels in all patients. Low plasma glutamine levels at day 6 were associated with a worse outcome.

These results argue against a beneficial effect of N-acetylcysteine upon tissue oxygenation in patients with severe multiple organ failure and evidence of splanchnic hypoxia. Furthermore, they suggest that the mechanisms controlling the extraction of oxygen by the peripheral tissues in these patients were not impaired. Eur Respir J 1997; 10: 1962-1966