Enteral Glutamine in Neurologically-injured Patients

Phase 4CompletedNCT00204971

University of Wisconsin, Madison102 enrolled

Overview

Nutrition is an important part of the recovery process after having a head injury so that subjects can gain strength and fight off infection. Liquid nutrition formulas are often given to patients through a tube that has been placed into the intestines for feeding when they are unable to eat on their own. Some reports suggest that nutrition with extra amounts of the amino acid called glutamine may decrease infections and hospital stay in severely injured patients.The purpose of this study is to evaluate if giving extra amounts of an amino acid called glutamine with liquid nutrition formulas will decrease the risk of infection and length of stay in the intensive care unit after having a head injury.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

DOUBLE

Enrollment

102

Conditions

Neurologic Injury Traumatic Brain Injury

Interventions

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 75 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Males * Nonpregnant females * Aged 18-75 years old * Glasgow Coma Scores of 3-12 * Injury Severity Scores greater than or equal to 20 * Requiring enteral nutrition for a minimum of 5 days Exclusion Criteria: * Documented hepatic dysfunction * Acute renal failure (creatinine clearance \< 15 mL/min) * Gastrointestinal malabsorptive disorder * Infection at time of admission

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Nosocomial infections

Time frame: throughout study

Secondary Outcomes

Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome

Time frame: throughout the study

Nutritional outcome parameters