[Application of bedside ultrasound in measuring gastric residual volume in neurosurgical critical patients with enteral nutrition support].

Objective: To explore the effect of bedside ultrasound in measuring gastric residual volume in neurosurgical critical patients with enteral nutrition support. Method: From March to August 2016, 70 critically neurological patients with continues enteral nutrition who admitted in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) were randomized into two groups. The observation group applied the bedside ultrasound monitoring gastric residual volume every day to guide the implementation of enteral nutrition. The control group used syringes withdrawing every 8 hours to measure the gastric residual volume. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of complications include regurgitation and aspiration in this two group patients (P=0.356; P=1.000), while the times of interrupting enteral nutrition was lower in the observation group(25.7% vs 5.7%, 74.3% vs 94.3%, P=0.045), the length of target feeding time and the length of ICU stay, the operation time was shortened, with a statistically significant difference[(2.37±0.69) d vs (3.49±0.74) d, P=0.028; (8.52±5.45) d vs (6.40±2.71) d, P=0.022; (58.29±11.22)s vs (67.60±7.05) s, P=0.000]. Conclusion: The application of bedside ultrasound to measure gastric residual volume can be a scientific method to guide enteral nutrition in neurosurgical critical patients, which can reduce the times of interrupting enteral nutrition and shorten the length of target feeding time and ICU length of stay, reduce the workload of nurses.