Reason small-bowel feeding may deliver more calories is because...

• A. Gastric emptying recovers rapidly, allowing bigger gastric feed.
• B. Small-bowel motility recovers more slowly than gastric.
• C. Recovery of gastric emptying may be slower than return of small bowel motility.
• D. It eliminates need for calories?

Answer: (C)

When gastric emptying is slower than the return of small-bowel motility, feeding into the small intestine allows calories to be delivered even though the stomach is still sluggish. Post-pyloric (small-bowel) feeds bypass the stomach, reducing intolerance and aspiration risk and enabling higher, more reliable caloric delivery as the small bowel becomes ready to absorb nutrients. If the stomach recovered quickly, there’d be less reason to rely on post-pyloric feeding; if the small bowel were slower to recover, post-pyloric feeding wouldn’t offer this advantage. It doesn’t eliminate calories—rather, it improves the ability to meet caloric goals when gastric emptying is delayed.