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For instructor materials including Power Points, Answers to Clinical Encounter Questions, please contact userservices@mhprofessional.com.
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Content Update
July 23, 2024
Update to Guidelines for Nutrition Support in Adult Critically Ill Patients from the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition: The 2016 Guidelines for the Provision and Assessment of Nutrition Support Therapy in the Adult Critically Ill Patient were jointly published by the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) and the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM). These Guidelines had many “expert consensus” recommendations because of a dearth of randomized controlled trials exploring many of the practice areas. A 2021 update by ASPEN to these guidelines addressed five questions for which trials had been conducted, some before and some after the previous guidelines were put together, which are summarized in this update.
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of the chapter, the reader will be able to:
Discuss how gut structure and function impact choice of feeding route and outcome of feeding.
Estimate kilocalorie and protein requirements of an enteral feeding candidate and design an enteral nutrition (EN) regimen to meet these.
Evaluate patient-specific parameters to determine whether EN is appropriate.
Compare clinical efficacy, complications, and costs of EN versus parenteral nutrition (PN).
Formulate a monitoring plan for an EN patient.
Select appropriate medication administration techniques for an EN patient.
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Enteral nutrition (EN) is broadly defined as delivery of nutrients via the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The terms enteral nutrition and tube feedings are often used synonymously. Formulas for EN usually are delivered in the form of commercially prepared liquid preparations, although some products are produced as powders for reconstitution, and some patients may appropriately receive specific blenderized foods via feeding tubes.1 Nonvolitional feedings, in patients who cannot meet nutritional requirements by oral intake, include EN and parenteral nutrition (PN), which are collectively known as specialized nutrition support (SNS).
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Several organizations have issued EN clinical guidelines. These include the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN), European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN), and a Canadian team known as Critical Care Nutrition.2-4 ASPEN and the Society for Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) have jointly issued guidelines for SNS in critically ill patients and COVID-19 patients.5,6
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GI TRACT STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION
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Anatomy and Absorptive Function
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With normal volitional feeding, food is ingested via mouth. There, the process of breaking down complex foodstuffs into simpler forms begins. Solid food is chewed in the mouth, and enzymes begin digestion. Presence of food in specific GI tract regions triggers release for many enzymes and GI hormones. Food is swallowed and passes through the esophagus and the esophageal sphincter to the stomach, where additional digestive enzymes and acids further break it down. The stomach also mixes and grinds.
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