Q: 42 year old male with out of hospital cardiac arrest, is now in ICU undergoing therapeutic hypothermia. When it would be appropriate to start enteral nutrition on him?

Answer: Patients receiving therapeutic hypothermia can begin enteral nutrition during the rewarming process. One recent study showed that During period 1 (cooling), patients tolerated a median of 72% of administered feed. During period 2 (rewarming phase), a median of 95% of administered feed was tolerated. During period 3 (normothermia) a median of 100% of administered feed was tolerated. Absorption of enteral feed increased with increasing core temperature.

Reference:

Williams ML, Nolan JP - Is enteral feeding tolerated during therapeutic hypothermia? - Resuscitation. 2014 Nov;85(11):1469-72.