Nutritional support of critically ill patients is a major treatment
modality which will enhance recovery and shorten convalescence. New
knowledge has emphasized that much of the organ dysfunction associated
with sepsis and altered blood flow is related to oxidative injury.
Specific nutrients are highly effective in counteracting these effects
and their early administration may attenuate cellular damage and
multi-organ failure. Patient outcome may also be enhanced by the route
of feeding, administration of newer nutrient combinations, utilization
of evolving methods of monitoring and the use of growth factors. This
new knowledge has evolved to a new area of metabolic support which is
addressed for the first time by a group of international experts. The
topics presented and general conclusions are of major importance to the
practitioners in this field, for they show, for the first time, a
departure from the more traditional approaches of nutritional support in
patients with life-threatening diseases.