• M Carmen Herrero Domínguez-Berrueta, Ana María Martín de Rosales Cabrera, and Montserrat Pérez Encinas.
• Servicio de Farmacia del Hospital Universitario Fundación Alcorcón. España.. carmenhdb@hotmail.com.
• Nutr Hosp. 2014 Jan 1;29(2):402-10.

ObjectivesTo analyze nutritional parameters in critical post-surgical patients under stressful conditions, their evolution, and to assess the degree of adjustment of initial parenteral nutrition (PN) to the requirements set for in the recently published recommendations.Material And MethodsObservational, retrospective study including post-surgical critically ill patients admitted to the post-surgical reanimation unit (RU) in whom PN was prescribed, in 2011. Demographical, anthropometric, diagnosis, nutritional parameters, mortality, total duration of hospitalization and duration of hospitalization at the RU, and complications were gathered. The type of PN prescribed was compared, with individualization of the requirements by Kg of body weight, according to the latest recommendations published on nutrition of critically ill patients (ASPEN, ESPEN, SENPE): 18-30 kcal/kg, 0.8-1.5 g/kg/proteins, 4 mg/kg/min/glucose and 2-3 mg/kg/min/glucose in patients with stress-related hyperglycemia, and 0.5-1 g/kg/day of lipids. The variables analyzed were caloric, protein, and glucose adjustments in the initial PN, recovering of albumin > 3 g/dL at day 10, and likely association with the number of complications, mortality and hospital stay.Results60 patients were analyzed. 23.3% (14/60) presented hyponutrition at admission, with significant weight loss before the intervention. Albumin, a negative acute phase reactant, was significantly low at baseline, on average 1.9 g/dL (95%CI 1.83-2.12), which indicates a high level of metabolic stress in post-surgical patients. Prescribed PNs were adjusted to the recommendations for kcal, proteins and lipids in 68.3%, 71.7%, and 80.4%, respectively. 57.1% were adjusted for glucose, although the intake from fluid therapy was not taken into account. In patients with a BMI < 22 kg/m2 (16/60), it was observed that 81.8% of the prescribed PNs had an excess in calories, 60% in proteins, and 43.8% in lipids (p < 0.05). 34% of all patients recovered their albumin levels > 3 g/dL at day 10, and the mortality, the duration of hospitalization at the RU, and the number of complications were significantly lower in these patients than in those not recuperating their albumin levels (p < 0.05).ConclusionsNutritional support is essential, particularly in those patients with a significant level of hyponutrition before surgical intervention, low weighed patients, or in those submitted to gastrointestinal surgery. In our study, baseline PN prescriptions were adjusted to recent recommendations in more than half of the patients; however, in patients with low weight or low BMI we observed higher caloric-protein excess in the prescribed PN since the intake has not been reduced by individualizing it to the body weight. Standardization of PN formulations is a tool of quality and safety, although in these patients it should be individually assessed. More studies are needed to validate the clinical benefits of individualized nutritional intake in post-surgical critically ill patients.Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

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