Enteral Nutrition in The Open Abdomen after Injury

Abstract

The optimal nutrition therapy for a critically injured patient is enteral nutrition. Despite initial hesitancy, recent literature supports the initiation of enteral nutrition in the open abdomen. Enteral nutrition in this complex, post-injury patient population has been shown to decrease septic complications , increase fascial closure rates, and reduce mortality. Following post-trauma resuscitation and stabilization, all patients should be considered for enteral nutrition therapy to improve outcomes.