title: Nutrition support strategies for severely burned patients.
abstract: Significant weight loss is a common complication of a major burn injury. Before the modern era of early enteral nutrition support, such a complication contributed significantly to impaired wound healing, raised risk of infectious morbidity, and ultimately increased mortality. Nutrition management of the burn patient is designed to promote wound healing while minimizing loss of lean body mass. The burn patient characteristically demonstrates an increase in energy expenditure after the initial injury and period of resuscitation. Studies have demonstrated that early institution of enteral feeding can attenuate the stress response, abate hypermetabolism, and improve patient outcome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA. jolee@utmb.edu
authors.forename: Jong O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Debbie
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Benjamin
authors.forename: David N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Herndon
mesh_terms: D001481:Basal Metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D002056:Burns / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy*; D015444:Exercise; D006801:Humans; D009751:Nutritional Requirements; D018529:Nutritional Support; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D015431:Weight Loss; D014945:Wound Healing