Current opinion in critical care
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Curr Opin Crit Care · Aug 2019
ReviewIntermittent or continuous feeding: any difference during the first week?
To balance theoretical pros and cons of intermittent feeding, in light of the current nutritional management early during critical illness. ⋯ Benefits of intermittent feeding in the ICU are today speculative, yet its potential impact may reach far beyond the gastrointestinal tract. Only adequately powered RCTs, evaluating both gastrointestinal tolerance, metabolic impact and patient-centered effects of intermittent feeding will allow to adopt or abort this nutritional strategy.
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Curr Opin Crit Care · Aug 2019
ReviewEnteral vs. parenteral nutrition in septic shock: are they equivalent?
The current review focuses on recent clinical evidence and updated guideline recommendations on the effects of enteral vs. parenteral nutrition in adult critically ill patients with (septic) shock. ⋯ The strong paradigm of favoring the enteral over the parenteral route in critically ill patients has been challenged. As a consequence, updated guidelines recommend withholding enteral nutrition in patients with uncontrolled shock. It is still unclear, however, whether parenteral nutrition is advantageous in patients with shock although benefits are conceivable in light of less gastrointestinal complications. Thus far, no guideline has addressed indications for parenteral nutrition in these patients. By considering recent scientific evidence, specific guideline recommendations, and expert opinions, we present a clinical algorithm that may facilitate decision-making when feeding critically ill patients with shock.
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Curr Opin Crit Care · Aug 2019
ReviewIs it time to abandon glucose control in critically ill adult patients?
To summarize the advances in literature that support the best current practices regarding glucose control in the critically ill. ⋯ A 'personalized' approach to glycemic control in the critically ill, with recognition of preadmission glycemia, is supported by an emerging literature and is suitable for testing in future interventional trials.
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Although vitamin C is essentially a nontoxic vitamin; however, it is important to be aware regarding the safety of high doses before the wide clinical use. ⋯ Data regarding the safety of high doses of vitamin C are scant. Until more data become available, caution should be applied in the use of high doses of vitamin C in patients with hemochromatosis, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, renal dysfunction, kidney stone, oxaluria, and pediatrics.
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Stress ulcer prophylaxis in critically-ill patients has been a subject of extensive research, with multiple clinical trials attempting to study the best method of stress ulcer prophylaxis with the least adverse effects. Until recently, pharmacologic prophylaxis has prevailed as the primary choice for the prevention of stress ulcers but recent clinical studies have attempted to evaluate the role of enteral nutrition in stress ulcer prophylaxis. ⋯ The results of multiple recent clinical studies call for re-evaluation of the routine use of PPIs in critically ill patients who tolerates enteral nutrition in the ICU. Despite the promising preliminary results, definitive recommendations need larger clinical trials that are powered to evaluate any added benefits of using PPI in critically ill patients who tolerate enteral nutrition given the low incidence of CIGB in the current era.