Efficacy of prokinetics in preventing pneumonia in post-stroke patients with nasogastric tubes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Minerva Medica 2026

View at publisher
Authors: Lucca Tamara Alves Carretta, Pedro R. TEIXEIRA, Lucas Copolillo Faria, NICOLE BAPTISTA DE OLIVEIRA, Eduarda Endlich de Freitas, Raiza Brito Cipriano, Felipe F. PINTO, Luiz Filipe Brasileiro Miranda dos Santos, Sandy Souza, Christian Ken Fukunaga, Lucas L. MENDES, Rudolfh Batista Arend
+5 more Mariana Letícia de Bastos Maximiano, Daniel Marchi Kieling, Carolina B. Moura, Ítalla Maria Pinheiro Bezerra, Fernando R. OLIVEIRA
DOI: 10.23736/s0026-4806.26.09880-0
Cited by: 0
References: 18

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Post-stroke patients with nasogastric tubes are at higher risk of aspiration pneumonia. In such cases, prokinetics have been linked with improved gastric emptying and reduced reflux, even though their effectiveness is controversial. This research aims to assess the application of prokinetics for the prevention of post-stroke pneumonia.EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: We searched the databases Cochrane, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and Scopus for RCTs up to November 2024. The outcome of interest was incidence pneumonia, and we assessed bias using RoB 2 and ROBINS-1.EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Overall, 326 articles were screened and 3 RCTs, comprising 600 patients, were included. There were 291 patients in the intervention group and 309 in the control group. Risk ratio for pneumonia was 0.80 (95% CI: 0.50-1.27, P>0.05), which showed no significant reduction. High heterogeneity was observed (I2=87%, P

Fields of Study & Subjects

Dysphagia Assessment and Management Clinical Nutrition and Gastroenterology Nosocomial Infections in ICU

Publication details

Journal / source
Minerva Medica
Volume
117
Issue
2
Pages
80–87
Publication date
16 March 2026
Language
EN