Nutrition support protocols in the intensive care unit

Abstract

Providing nutritional support is a standard component of managing critically ill patients. Guidelines for provision and assessment of nutrition support therapy have been shown as beneficial to the patient and able to reduce healthcare expenditures. Nevertheless, routine practice of these guidelines is not widespread and their objectives are often difficult to follow in practice. This article reviews the literature, examining the different nutrition support protocols available for the critically ill patient. A nutrition support protocol recently implemented in our intensive care unit is presented.