Yorkshire and Humber based patient becomes first UK participant in innovative gastroenterology trial.

A patient in Yorkshire and Humber has become the first to be recruited in the UK to a new study evaluating a newly designed nutritional tube feeding pouch for bolus feeding in adults.

The participant, Bob, was recruited at Brighouse Health Centre in West Yorkshire, took part in the bolus pouch feed study, which looks into trialling a new enteral pouch to administer enteral feed directly into the tube using the bolus technique. With there being no other specific product on the market at the moment, the trial pouch should be quicker and easier to use and require less equipment to use, subsequently resulting in less plastic waste.

The study required participants to trial the new enteral feed in the pouch every day for 28 days. Seven days prior to starting the trial product, participants took their usual bolus feed and logged data for how long it took them and how much equipment they used during the administration.  Baseline measurements such as weight, body mass index, and gastrointestinal tolerance were taken and repeated at the end of the study.

After successfully taking part in the trial, Bob was full of praise for the study and the team that helped him take part, including Principal Investigator, Lisa Green.

‘Life is a lot easier with the pouches, there is less waste and they allow me to enjoy life better as they are easier to carry about so I can enjoy travelling and do what I need to do in my flat. Lisa has been extremely supportive throughout the programme, and I feel honoured to have been chosen by her to take part in the research’.

So far, patient feedback on the trial has been extremely positive and the study team are waiting on more pouches to become available, so that participants can be recruited.