The Caloric Necessities of Critical Care Patients During the First Week of Admission

Abstract

Introduction: The nutritional needs of critically ill patients have been the subject of intense controversy. In accordance with international guidelines, it is advocated to optimize a nutritional intake based on the following recommendation: 25-30 kcal/kg body weight per day. However, there still are authors who recommend permissive underfeeding in the first week of hospitalization. Nevertheless, energy expenditure (EE) and necessity are influenced by the catabolic phase of critical illness, which may vary over time on a patient and from patient to patient.