title: Physiologic response and clinical implications of nutrition support.
abstract: Cardiopulmonary complications such as sudden death, congestive heart failure and hypercapnia are now recognized to punctuate the refeeding course of malnourished hospitalized patients; these effects in particular occur early in the recovery period. Data that indicate a time-dependent dose and composition effect of continuously infused formula on gas exchange, metabolic rate, ventilation and cardiac-related indexes are discussed. Unlike the interrupted feeding of regular meal ingestion, continuous feeding produces a sustained physiologic response. Delineation of continuous feeding effects on host metabolism provides a rational basis for managing the untoward cardiac and pulmonary complications of nutrition support.
mesh_terms: D002320:Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; D004750:Enteral Nutrition; D006801:Humans; D012119:Respiration