Augmented Enteral Protein During Critical Illness: The TARGET Protein Randomized Clinical Trial
Primary resultResult — go to the resultMedian difference −1.97 days 95% CI −7.24 to 3.30Authors' conclusion
Augmenting enteral protein during critical illness did not improve number of days free of the index hospital and alive at day 90.
Study context
- Population
- Critically ill patients receiving enteral nutrition in 8 intensive care units (ICUs) in Australia and New Zealand, 2022–2023
- Participants
- 3,397 patients
- Comparison
- Augmented protein vs usual protein isocaloric enteral formulae
- Augmented proteinn = 1,681
- Usual proteinn = 1,716reference
- Primary endpoint
- Days free of admittance to the index hospital and alive
- Follow-up
- Day 90
Methodological detailscluster randomized, crossover, open-label, multicentre (8 ICUs), ICUs used each formula sequentially for 3 months over a 12-month period; 4 ICUs commenced with augmented protein and 4 with usual protein
- Cluster randomized
- Crossover
- Open-label
- Multicentre (8 ICUs)
- ICUs used each formula sequentially for 3 months over a 12-month period; 4 ICUs commenced with augmented protein and 4 with usual protein
Primary result
As reported in the abstract
Median difference
−1.97 days
95% CI −7.24 to 3.30
P = 0.46
By group
Augmented protein vs Usual protein
median difference −1.97 days (95% CI −7.24 to 3.30); P = 0.46
Secondary outcomes
| Outcome | Augmented protein | Usual protein | Risk ratio (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alive · day 90 | 72.6% | 74.0% | 0.99 (0.95–1.03) | |
| 0.512Risk ratio (log scale) |
- Alive: 1221 of 1681 vs 1269 of 1716
Days free of hospital in survivors · day 90
- Between-group difference in median days free of hospital in survivors, days
- 0.01 (95% CI, −1.94 to 1.96)
Duration of invasive ventilation
- Between-group difference in mean duration of invasive ventilation, hours
- 6.8 (95% CI, −3.0 to 16.5)
Duration of ICU admission (time to live ICU discharge)
- Cause-specific HR
- 0.93 (95% CI, 0.88-1.00)
Duration of hospital admission (time to live hospital discharge)
- Cause-specific HR
- 0.96 (95% CI, 0.90-1.02)
Tracheostomy
- RR
- 1.15 (95% CI, 0.66-2.01)
New kidney replacement therapy
- RR
- 0.97 (95% CI, 0.81-1.16)
Hospital discharge destination
- Discharge destinations were similar
Original publication
Augmented Enteral Protein During Critical Illness: The TARGET Protein Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. Published 22 July 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →