Sequential Versus Continuous Feeding and Its Effect on the Gut Microbiota in Critically Ill Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Gut microbiota disturbance may worsen critical illnesses and is responsible for the progression of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. In our previous study, there was a trend towards a higher α-diversity of the gut microbiota in sequential feeding (SF) than in continuous feeding (CF) for critically ill patients. We designed this non-blinded, randomized controlled study to confirm these results.