Exploring a tolerable and effective dosage of omega-3 fatty acids as a supplement in enterally fed patients with severe pneumonia: A pilot study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is one of the most common di-agnoses in the medical intensive care unit. The objective of this study is to seek an effective and clinically tolerable dosage of ω-3 (EPA+DHA) fatty acids (FA) in enterally fed patients with severe pneumonia. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: A total of 84 patients were randomly assigned to a control group or two experimental groups from January 2022 to June 2024, each receiving 3.50g and 8.75g of ω-3 FA daily for 7 days, and clinical outcomes and tolerance parameters were collected. RESULTS: ω-3 FA supplementation significantly reduced mechanical ventilation (MV) duration, hospital expenses, and daily hospital costs. Mechanistically, the anticipated anti-inflammatory effect was not observed but a trend of immune enhancement was noted. The addition of 3.50g and 8.75g of ω-3 FA daily was relatively well-tolerated in patients with severe pneumonia. CONCLUSIONS: In this pilot study, ω-3 FA supplementation at 3.50-8.75 g/day to enterally fed patients with severe pneumonia for 7 days was relatively well-tolerated, shortened days of MV, and decreased hospital cost. Further investigation with adequate statistical power and larger sample size is warranted to confirm these clin-ical benefits and establish the optimal dosage for this supplementation strategy.