Enteral nutrition, critically ill children, and lung injury

Abstract

this patient population in order to insure proper nutrition and optimal outcome. There are two primary methods to provide nutrition to the critically ill child–enteral and parenteral.Enteral nutrition is safer and more cost effective than parenteral nutrition and is therefore the preferred method of nutritional support.Parenteral nutrition is favored when the gastrointestinal tract cannot be utilized or as supplement to suboptimal enteral nutrition.This chapter will review current literature surrounding the provision of nutritional support to the critically ill child including measurement of nutritional needs, optimal routes and timing, overfeeding, and the promising work in immunomodulation through enteral nutrition