Ernährungstherapie des Intensivpatienten

Nutritional therapy is an elemental component of intensive care treatment. Therapeutic goals are the enteral or parenteral provision of calories, protein, electrolytes, vitamins and trace elements. Pathophysiologically, metabolism in critical illness is characterized by a catabolic stress status. This results from an underlying systemic inflammatory response and is associated with increased rate of infections, multiple organ failure and unfavourable outcome. In this article, the principles and strategies of nutrition support therapy in critically ill patients are presented, based on current guidelines.