[Artificial nutrition in emergency surgery]

In emergency surgery the artificial feeding is clearly a treatment exclusively post-operatory but it is necessary to establish an exact indication that excludes abuses and too many limitations. The Authors believe that artificial feeding must be realized in emergency surgery considering the duration, the kind of operation and the patient's conditions. The Authors believe that artificial feeding is necessary when the blood loss is more than 1000 ml., the duration of operation is longer than 3 hs., there is an important inflammatory process and it is likely that an adequate natural feeding will be impossible after the operation for period longer than 7-8 days. The patient is valued as a critical patient likely to have an artificial feeding, bearing in mind the clinical examination, the anamnesis, the weight of the patient, the values of haematocrit, albumin, haemoglobin, lymphocytes and skin-tests. The Authors believe that in emergency it is necessary to use some simple and easily valuable parameters.