Effect of initiating enteral protein feeding on whole-body protein turnover in critically ill patients

Background: Critically ill patients are susceptible to protein catabolism. Enteral feeding may ameliorate protein loss, but its effect is not well characterized in terms of protein kinetics. Objective: We established a method of quantifying the effect of enteral protein feeding on whole-body protein turnover and studied critically ill patients receiving early enteral nutrition. Design: In a proof-of-concept study, we established, in healthy subjects (n = 6), a method of measuring the effect of continuous enteral protein feeding on whole-body protein turnover by using ¹³C-phenylalanine (¹³C-Phe) intrinsically labeled casein by a nasogastric feeding tube and an intravenous ²H ₅-Phe tracer. The protocol was applied to study critically ill patients (n = 10) during the initial hypocaloric-hyponitrogenous dose of enteral nutrition. Results: Patients were catabolic with a negative protein balance. The median splanchnic extraction fraction of hourly dietary Phe intake was 92% (range: 86–99%); that is, the availability of dietary Phe in arterial plasma was low. In patients with a stable parenteral amino acid supply (n = 7), the median net protein balance improved during enteral feeding from −8.6 to −5.8 μmol · kg body weight ⁻¹ · h ⁻¹ (P = 0.018). Conclusions: Whole-body protein turnover and the contribution of dietary protein can be quantified in critically ill patients by using intravenous and enteral stable-isotope Phe tracers. The whole-body protein balance improved during early hypocaloric-hyponitrogenous enteral protein feeding in these patients. This trial was registered at the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry as ACTRN12614000333617.