A Short-Term Enteral Nutrition Protocol for Management of Adult Crohn’s Disease—A Pilot Trial

TL;DR

This pilot study shows that a short-term nutrition plan using a special formula can help manage Crohn’s disease in adults.

Contribution

The study introduces a feasible 4-week partial enteral nutrition protocol for adult Crohn’s disease patients.

Findings

Patients consumed ~66% of calories from the formula, suggesting a potential calorie target for future trials.

Flavinofractor was the only genus found to be differentially abundant after the intervention.

The trial demonstrates the feasibility of partial enteral nutrition in managing adult Crohn’s disease.

Abstract

Crohn’s disease (CD) is often treated with either exclusive or supplemental enteral nutrition (EN) in pediatrics, but adult practice guidelines primarily focus on medications. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of a 4-week semi-elemental-formula-based oral nutrition delivery program for managing adult CD (n = 4). Patients consumed ~66% of calories from the formula, a finding that might provide an improved calorie target for future trials. We identified Flavinofractor as the only differentially abundant genus, distinguishing post-intervention samples from pre-intervention samples. Findings from this pilot trial demonstrate the feasibility of a partial enteral nutrition protocol in adult CD management and contribute to the growing body of literature on the potential role of EN therapy in adults with CD.

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