Zhe Xu,1 Yi Ding,1 Xue-Mei Deng,1 Xiu-Xiu Mao,1 Ping-Fan Xia,1 Deng-Ran Li,1 Yong-Ping Lu2 

1Department of Pediatrics, Guangyuan Central Hospital, Guangyuan, People’s Republic of China; 2Science & Technology Innovation Center, Guangyuan Central Hospital, Guangyuan, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Yong-Ping Lu, Science & Technology Innovation Center, Guangyuan Central Hospital, Guangyuan, People’s Republic of China, Email luyongping_lyp@163.com

Objective: To explore the application of short-peptide enteral nutrition formulation in mechanically ventilated pediatric patients with severe pneumonia and its impact on rehabilitation outcomes, providing practical clinical evidence for the nutritional support strategy in critically ill pneumonia children.
Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 90 neonatal pneumonia patients undergoing mechanical ventilation from May 2022 to December 2023. The patients were divided into an experimental group receiving short peptide enteral nutrition formulation via nasogastric tube and a control group receiving whole-protein enteral nutrition formulation via nasogastric tube. The nutritional risk was assessed using STRONGkids, and the nutritional status was analyzed through biochemical protein indicators. Additionally, mechanical ventilation time, hospitalization duration, incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), and disease outcomes were recorded and compared between the two groups.
Results: Both groups were assessed with medium to high nutritional risk, with no significant difference in the degree of nutritional risk (P > 0.05). After intervention, total protein, albumin, and prealbumin levels increased in both groups, with the experimental group showing significantly higher levels than the control group (P < 0.05). VAP predominantly occurred in the control group, with an incidence rate of 7% (3/45), showing a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.05). The experimental group exhibited significantly shorter Length of hospital stay and mechanical ventilation duration compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Moreover, there was no statistically significant difference in disease outcomes between the two groups (P > 0.05).
Conclusion: Short peptide enteral nutrition formulation contributes to improving the treatment outcomes of mechanically ventilated pneumonia patients, providing a therapeutic approach for the nutritional support of critically ill children requiring mechanical ventilation.

Keywords: short peptide enteral nutrition formulation, mechanical ventilation, pediatric patients with severe pneumonia, nutritional status