Recommendations Summary

CI: Nutrition Prescription for Critically Ill Adults 2012

Click here to see the explanation of recommendation ratings (Strong, Fair, Weak, Consensus, Insufficient Evidence) and labels (Imperative or Conditional). To see more detail on the evidence from which the following recommendations were drawn, use the hyperlinks in the Supporting Evidence Section below.


  • Recommendation(s)

    CI: Nutrition Prescription for Critically Ill Adults

    The Registered Dietitian (RD) should develop a nutrition prescription for critically ill adults to include:

    • Energy
    • Protein
    • Fiber
    • Vitamins
    • Minerals
    • Fluid.

    Nutrition interventions are selected based on the nutrition prescription.

    Rating: Consensus
    Imperative

    • Risks/Harms of Implementing This Recommendation

      • Over- or underfeeding may lead to metabolic and clinical complications and subsequent poor outcomes
      • Provision of nutrition support, including enteral nutrition (EN) or parenteral nutrition (PN), to nutritionally compromised critically ill patients may be associated with patient complications including, but not limited to:
        • Aspiration
        • Infections, including catheter-related infections
        • Metabolic complications resulting from under- or overfeeding
        • Gastrointestinal (GI) complications, including diarrhea
        • Provision of excessive or inadequate fluid may lead to inappropriate hydration status and subsequent poor outcomes.

    • Conditions of Application

      The patient should be closely monitored for signs and symptoms of overfeeding or underfeeding, or of substrate overload.

    • Potential Costs Associated with Application

      Organizational expenses incurred as a result of treating critically ill patients may be reduced by the provision of adequate nutrition care.

    • Recommendation Narrative

      Consensus.

    • Recommendation Strength Rationale

      Consensus reached.

    • Minority Opinions

      None.