title: Nutritional assessment of the critically ill patient.
abstract: Nutritional assessment can be incorporated into the assessments performed daily by the critical care nurse for every patient. Identification of nutritional deficits will lead to timely interventions and will facilitate recovery and early discharge. The metabolic responses to starvation and stress are reviewed, and bedside techniques for nutritional assessment are outlined. General guidelines for nutritional support and parameters for monitoring the effectiveness of nutritional therapies are defined.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical-Surgical Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA.
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Berry
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Braunschweig
mesh_terms: D000886:Anthropometry / Q000379:methods; D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods*; D016638:Critical Illness; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D006801:Humans; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000379:methods; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009751:Nutritional Requirements; D009752:Nutritional Status; D018529:Nutritional Support / Q000379:methods / Q000451:nursing; D013217:Starvation / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000451:nursing*