Author(s):
Dennis, M.
; Lewis, S.
; Warlow, C.
; FOOD Trial Collaboration
Date: 2005
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.16/805
Origin: Repositório Científico do Centro Hospitalar do Porto
Description
Summary
Background Undernutrition is common in patients admitted with stroke. We aimed to establish whether the timing
and route of enteral tube feeding after stroke affected patients’ outcomes at 6 months.
Methods The FOOD trials consist of three pragmatic multicentre randomised controlled trials, two of which
included dysphagic stroke patients. In one trial, patients enrolled within 7 days of admission were randomly
allocated to early enteral tube feeding or no tube feeding for more than 7 days (early versus avoid). In the other,
patients were allocated percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) or nasogastric feeding. The primary outcome
was death or poor outcome at 6 months. Analysis was by intention to treat.
Findings Between Nov 1, 1996, and July 31, 2003, 859 patients were enrolled by 83 hospitals in 15 countries into the
early versus avoid trial. Early tube feeding was associated with an absolute reduction in risk of death of 5·8% (95% CI
–0·8 to 12·5, p=0·09) and a reduction in death or poor outcome of 1·2% (–4·2 to 6·6, p=0·7). In the PEG versus
nasogastric tube trial, 321 patients were enrolled by 47 hospitals in 11 countries. PEG feeding was associated with an
absolute increase in risk of death of 1·0% (–10·0 to 11·9, p=0·9) and an increased risk of death or poor outcome of
7·8% (0·0 to 15·5, p=0·05).
Interpretation Early tube feeding might reduce case fatality, but at the expense of increasing the proportion surviving
with poor outcome. Our data do not support a policy of early initiation of PEG feeding in dysphagic stroke patients