Specialized nutrition support should be offered to patients who are malnourished or at risk of becoming malnourished when it would benefit patient outcomes or quality of life. Improving the nutritional value of ingested food and tailoring intake to the patient's preferences, abilities, and schedule should be the first measures in addressing nutritional needs. When these interventions alone are ...

CONTEXT There is controversy concerning the merits of enteral and parenteral nutrition in the management of patients with severe acute pancreatitis. OBJECTIVE This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of enteral nutrition versus parenteral nutrition on serum markers of inflammation and outcome in patients with severe acute pancreatitis. SETTING Tertiary care centre in North India. ...

Exclusive enteral nutrition is an effective yet often underused therapy for the induction of remission in pediatric Crohn disease. The North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition formed the Enteral Nutrition Working Group to review the use of enteral nutrition therapy in pediatric Crohn disease. The group was composed of 5 pediatric gastroenterologists and 1...

Mechanically ventilated critically ill patients treated in the intensive care unit (ICU) require enteral feedings to maintain adequate nutrition during critical illness. Delivery of adequate enteral nutrition is also critical to the recovery of critically ill patients. Enteral nutrition has been shown to decrease length of time on the ventilator, decrease length of stay and ICU and decrease mor...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Diarrhea is a common and problematic complication of enteral nutrition, about which there has been considerable recent research. This article briefly reviews the mechanisms of diarrhea during enteral nutrition and then critically appraises the recent and emerging evidence for the prevention and management of this distressing complication. RECENT FINDINGS For many years, fibe...

Current Opinion in Gastroenterology 2011, 27:152–159 Purpose of review Diarrhea is a common and problematic complication of enteral nutrition, about which there has been considerable recent research. This article briefly reviews the mechanisms of diarrhea during enteral nutrition and then critically appraises the recent and emerging evidence for the prevention and management of this distressing...

Background: The current trend in postoperative nutrition is to promote a normal oral diet as early as possible. However, postoperative ileus is a frequent and common problem after major abdominal surgery. This study was designed to investigate whether early enteral nutrition (EEN), as a bridge to a normal diet, can reduce postoperative ileus. Methods: Patients undergoing major rectal surgery fo...

Artificial nutrition includes: enteral nutrition, and parenteral nutrition. Total parenteral nutrition aims at making up for nutritional deficiency caused by both insufficient oral nutrition due to anorexia and obstruction of the gastro-enteric tube or derived from a digestive inefficacy due to a deficiency in the digestive process of assimilation. Enteral nutrition is destined to elderly patie...

The nutrition dose truly absorbed by a patient is crucial information in the management or the investigation of nutrition during critical illness. In the present issue of Critical Care, assessment of nutritional losses in stools was studied. These losses together with enteral nutrition lost in gastric fluids and enteral nutrition prescribed but never infused make up the difference between the d...