title: Guidelines for improving nutritional delivery in the intensive care unit.
abstract: Optimizing nutritional delivery in the intensive care unit (ICU) continues to be a challenge. Nutritional guidelines were developed at a metropolitan Level I trauma center as an institutional response to ensure the timeliness of patient evaluation, initiation of therapy, and attainment of goal therapy. A post-implementation review of 525 consecutive ICU patients revealed that the guidelines enabled the staff to evaluate 86% of all ICU patients and initiate appropriate therapy in 68% of them within 48 hours of admission. Goal therapy was achieved in more than 90% of patients within 72 hours. The establishment of nutritional guidelines is an integral step to improving nutritional therapy in the ICU.
authors.affiliation: Boston University School of Medicine, USA. rie.airhara@bmc.org
authors.forename: Rie
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Aihara
authors.forename: Sandy L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Schoepfel
authors.forename: Adrienne R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Curtis
authors.forename: Joseph S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Blansfield
authors.forename: Peter A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.forename: Frederick H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Millham
authors.forename: Erwin F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Hirsch
mesh_terms: D004035:Diet Therapy / Q000592:standards*; D004750:Enteral Nutrition / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000592:standards*; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D010288:Parenteral Nutrition / Q000592:standards*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000592:standards*; D014481:United States