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Infection and the malnourished patient
Heart & Lung : the Journal of Critical Care
|January 1, 1983
Summary
Malnutrition and infection worsen each other, especially in critical care. Nutritional support, including enteral and parenteral feeding, can help patients fight infection and recover.
Area of Science:
- Critical care medicine
- Clinical nutrition
- Infectious disease
Background:
- Synergistic negative effects of infection and malnutrition pose challenges in critical care.
- Caloric deficiency leads to the utilization of body fuel reserves.
- Malnutrition impairs a patient's ability to combat infection and its consequences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the challenges faced by critical care nurses regarding infection and malnutrition.
- To emphasize the importance of assessing body fuel reserves.
- To discuss the role of nutritional support in breaking the cycle of malnutrition and infection.
Main Methods:
- Assessment of body fuel reserves through clinical and laboratory measurements.
- Application of enteral feeding techniques.
- Application of parenteral feeding techniques.
Main Results:
- Calorie deficits necessitate the use of endogenous fuel stores.
- Malnutrition diminishes the patient's resilience to infection.
- Nutritional interventions can interrupt the detrimental cycle.
Conclusions:
- Effective nutritional support is crucial in critical care settings.
- Enteral and parenteral nutrition are key strategies to manage malnutrition.
- Breaking the malnutrition-infection cycle improves patient outcomes.