Category: Clinical nutrition

According to studies, peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients often lose between 5 and 20 grams of protein during each dialysis session, leading to chronic malnutrition. This is where IPN nutrition, or Intraperitoneal Nutrition, serves as a crucial intervention by directly delivering vital amino acids into the peritoneal cavity to counteract these protein losses.

According to the American College of Gastroenterology, enteral nutrition is generally preferred over parenteral when the gastrointestinal tract is functional, and oral feeding is always the first choice. This guide explains what are the three types of feeding methods, detailing the distinct differences between oral, enteral, and parenteral approaches to delivering nutrition.

Carbohydrates are the body's main and preferred source of energy, fueling everything from cellular activity to brain function. The clinical significance of carbohydrates extends far beyond simple energy provision, encompassing complex metabolic pathways, energy storage, and their direct link to several major health conditions and inherited disorders.

According to a 2021 review, energy expenditure is highly variable among critically ill patients, making static caloric estimates unreliable and emphasizing the risk of both underfeeding and overfeeding. Understanding what is the calorie requirement for critically ill patients is therefore crucial for improving their outcomes.

Recent clinical evidence suggests that underfeeding, specifically permissive underfeeding, may be tolerated during the acute phase of critical illness and potentially improve outcomes compared to aggressive, standard feeding protocols. This approach intentionally delivers fewer calories than estimated requirements.

According to the National Institutes of Health, the primary macronutrients for total parenteral nutrition (TPN) are dextrose, amino acids, and lipid emulsions. Knowing which of the following are the base solutions for compounding TPN is crucial for pharmacists and healthcare professionals to ensure patient safety and proper nutritional support.

Over 500,000 people in the United States receive enteral nutrition annually, underscoring the critical need for accurate care planning. Proper administration of this vital nutritional support hinges on knowing how to do enteral feeding calculations correctly, ensuring patients receive the right balance of energy, protein, and fluids.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), severe acute malnutrition is a major cause of child mortality, defined partly by severe wasting or very low mid-upper arm circumference. A critically low thickness of the triceps skin fold in severe malnutrition is a key indicator of depleted body fat reserves and is assessed using standardized anthropometric techniques.

According to the National Institutes of Health, malnutrition remains a common issue among surgical patients and is linked to higher rates of complications and mortality. The field of surgical nutrition is a specialized branch of medicine dedicated to managing the nutritional needs of patients before, during, and after surgical procedures to optimize their recovery and improve outcomes. It is a critical component of modern surgical care, moving beyond simply feeding patients to strategically providing nutrients to support healing and reduce stress.

According to the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN), parenteral nutrition (PN) is administered intravenously to provide nutrients when the gastrointestinal tract is non-functional. This life-sustaining therapy bypasses the digestive system and delivers essential nutrients directly into the bloodstream through a catheter inserted into a vein.