Nutritional therapy and infectious diseases: a two-edged sword

Area of Science:

• Nutrition and Infectious Diseases
• Clinical Nutrition
• Preventive Medicine

Background:

• Infectious diseases pose significant risks, particularly in developed nations.
• Nutritional status plays a crucial role in immune function and infection susceptibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the benefits and risks of nutritional therapies for preventing and managing infectious diseases.
• To evaluate the efficacy of different nutritional interventions in various clinical settings.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of existing literature on nutritional therapies and infectious diseases.
• Analysis of evidence supporting early enteral feeding, parenteral nutrition, and specific dietary supplements.

Main Results:

• Strong evidence supports early enteral feeding in traumatic and surgical illnesses to prevent infections.
• Parenteral nutrition is associated with an increased risk of infection compared to enteral feeding or delayed nutrition.
• Gastric and small bowel feedings demonstrate similar safety and efficacy.
• Glutamine supplementation may reduce post-surgical infections; cranberry products show value in preventing urinary tract infections.

Conclusions:

• Early enteral nutrition is beneficial in specific patient populations (surgical/trauma).
• Parenteral nutrition should be used cautiously due to increased infection risk.
• Targeted nutritional interventions like glutamine and cranberry may have specific roles in infection prevention.