[Recommendations for artificial nutritional support in critically ill patients]

The development of artificial nutritional support has been increased in the last years. Access routes and composition of formulas have been improved. Critic patients is a group of great controversy in this topic area. Enteral nutrition is better than parenteral nutrition in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, acute pancreatitis, burn and septic with a A level of evidence. Enteral nutrition is better than parenteral nutrition in patients with short bowel disease, chronic hepatopathy, surgery ot digestive tract in patients with cancer disease, patients with HIV infection and patients with politraumatism. Parenteral nutrition is better than enteral nutrition in patients with haematopoyetic transplantation with a B level of evidence. Some nutrients have been shown a beneficial effect in artificial nutritional support such as (diets low in fat and high in complex carbohydrates) (level A), diets with inmunonutrients in patients with surgery of digestive tract cancer (level B), diet enhanced with w3 fatty acids in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (level C), and patients with HIV infection (level B), diets enriched with glutamin in patients with politraumatism and haematopoyetic transplantation (level B). Specific diets have not been shown beneficial effects in some pathologies (short bowel syndrome, acute pancreatitis, renal insufficiency treated with dialysis, and respiratory insufficiency). Diets with arginine are contraindicated in septic critically ill patients (level A). In conclusion, artificial nutritional support in critic patients is a controversy topic area with a high level of change in knowledgments with new improvements in access route, diets and designs of interventional trials.