Clinical Nutrition and Gastroenterology

Nutrition support therapy examines how clinicians deliver adequate nourishment to patients who cannot eat normally, relying on either enteral nutrition—nutrients delivered directly into the gut—or parenteral nutrition, which bypasses the digestive tract entirely and infuses nutrients into the bloodstream. In critically ill patients, getting this balance right has measurable consequences: malnutrition slows recovery, weakens immune defenses, and extends time in intensive care, while overfeeding carries its own risks of metabolic complications. Researchers are actively investigating how to calibrate energy delivery to a patient's actual metabolic rate rather than population estimates, and whether specific nutrients such as glutamine or immunonutrition formulas genuinely improve outcomes or only help in particular subgroups. Longer-term questions surround patients with intestinal failure or short bowel syndrome who depend on home parenteral nutrition for years, where the goals shift toward sustaining quality of life while minimizing serious complications like bloodstream infection and liver injury.

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Keywords

Nutrition Support TherapyCritical CareEnteral NutritionParenteral NutritionIntestinal FailureGlutamine