Enteral feeding.
Enteral nutrition (EN) is an established modality of nutritional support that has received wide acceptance. However, it is not clear in which conditions does it improve patient outcome and the best way to optimize its delivery. In this review, articles addressing the outcome of patients and methods to optimize delivery of EN are reviewed. With few exceptions, however, most studies are based on few patients or do not have a placebo arm. The usual comparison is against total parenteral nutrition and, in such comparisons, the studies fail to make the two groups comparable in terms of energy intake and the occurrence of a major risk factor for sepsis, namely hyperglycemia.
Jeejeebhoy
Khursheed N
KN
Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. khushjeejeebhoy@compuserv.com