Current opinion in critical care
-
Curr Opin Crit Care · Aug 2008
ReviewFeeding the injured intestine: enteral nutrition in the critically ill patient.
The utilization of enteral nutrition in critically ill patients is frequently suboptimal. This may be due, in part, to ongoing controversies regarding appropriate use of enteral support, but there are also perceived barriers to its use even when there is good evidence that it can be given. This review was undertaken to outline some of these controversies and barriers to use of enteral nutrition in the ICU. ⋯ Use of enteral nutritional support is recommended for critically ill patients requiring specialized nutritional support. Barriers to its use could be overcome by better educating providers about indications for use and by developing methods to avoid undue interruption of therapy.
-
Curr Opin Crit Care · Aug 2008
ReviewPrevention and treatment of pressure ulcers in the surgical intensive care unit.
To review recent work on pressure ulcer prevention and treatment in the intensive care unit within the context of previous work. ⋯ Preventing and treating pressure ulcers will continue to be a troublesome problem for intensivists. Accurate assessments and comparisons remain problematic across a heterogeneous intensive care unit population. Risk stratification schema need tailoring to the problems of intensive care unit patients. Treatment modalities may not prevent all pressure ulcer development or extension. Available data support dedicated training of nurses and physicians to maximize local intensive care unit resources to minimize the impact of pressure ulceration.