Early jejunal feeding initiation and clinical outcomes in patients with severe acute pancreatitis.

Background: Compared with parenteral nutrition, enteral nutrition reduces infectious complications and mortality in patients with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). This study used clinical outcomes to investigate the association between time to initiation of distal jejunal feeding (DJF) and time to achievement of goal enteral feeding with clinical outcomes.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed on all patients with SAP admitted to the medical intensive care unit (ICU) during a 1-year period.