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Nutritional Support

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Textbook of Emergency General Surgery

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Abstract

The adequate and appropriate management of the nutritional needs of patients who have undergone major trauma has a significant impact on their clinical outcomes and quality of life. Yet, there is little understanding among clinicians on how this is best carried out. Globally, there is a substantial variation in the components, quantity, route, timing, and type of feeding. Recently, several guidelines have been proposed to manage the nutritional needs of patients who have undergone major trauma. Although there is no one defined protocol to be followed, guidance advocates for the assessment of caloric needs of patients on an individualised basis and create a bespoke protocol tailored to the patient. This is underpinned by the importance of multidisciplinary teams with a deep understanding of the various aspects of nutrition to drive the transition forwards.

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Further Reading

  • McClave SA, Taylor BE, Martindale RG, Warren MM, Johnson DR, Braunschweig C, et al. Guidelines for the provision and assessment of nutrition support therapy in the adult critically ill patient: Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) and American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (A.S.P.E.N.). J Parenter Enter Nutr. 2016;40(2):159–211.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McKibbin B, Cresci G, Hawkins M. Nutrition support for the patient with an open abdomen after major abdominal trauma. Nutrition. 2003;19(6):563–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Singer P, Blaser AR, Berger MM, Alhazzani W, Calder PC, Casaer MP, et al. ESPEN guideline on clinical nutrition in the intensive care unit. Clin Nutr. 2019;38:48–79.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London, UK

    Swathikan Chidambaram

  2. Oxford Trauma, Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK

    En Lin Goh

  3. University of Brighton, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, UK

    Mansoor Ali Khan

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  1. Swathikan Chidambaram
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  2. En Lin Goh
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  3. Mansoor Ali Khan
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Correspondence to Mansoor Ali Khan .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. General, Emergency and Trauma Surgery Dept., Pisa University Hospital, Pisa, Italy

    Federico Coccolini

  2. General and Emergency Surgery Dept., Bufalini Hospital, Cesena, Italy

    Fausto Catena

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Chidambaram, S., Goh, E.L., Khan, M.A. (2023). Nutritional Support. In: Coccolini, F., Catena, F. (eds) Textbook of Emergency General Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22599-4_19

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