Nutrients
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Review
Vitamin C to Improve Organ Dysfunction in Cardiac Surgery Patients-Review and Pragmatic Approach.
The pleiotropic biochemical and antioxidant functions of vitamin C have sparked recent interest in its application in intensive care. Vitamin C protects important organ systems (cardiovascular, neurologic and renal systems) during inflammation and oxidative stress. It also influences coagulation and inflammation; its application might prevent organ damage. ⋯ This review covers current knowledge about the role of vitamin C in cardiac surgery patients with focus on its influence on organ dysfunctions. The relationships between vitamin C and clinical health outcomes are reviewed with special emphasis on its application in cardiac surgery. Additionally, this review pragmatically discusses evidence on the administration of vitamin C in every day clinical practice, tackling the issues of safety, monitoring, dosage, and appropriate application strategy.
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Validity of image-assisted and image-based dietary assessment methods relies on the accuracy of portion size estimation based on food images. However, little is known on the ability of nutrition professionals in assessing dietary intake based on digital food images. This study aims to examine the ability of nutrition professionals in reviewing food images with regard to food item identification and portion size estimation. ⋯ Weight of raw vegetables was significantly underestimated (-45.1 ± 22.8% vs. -21.2 ± 37.4%), while drink was significantly overestimated (40.1 ± 45.8% vs. 26.1 ± 32.2) in both images. Less than one-third of the participants estimated portion size within 10% of actual weight for Image PL (23.7%) and Image BW (32.3%). Accuracy of nutrition professionals in reviewing food images could be further improved with training on better perception of portion sizes from images.
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Current evidence supports the use of probiotics in preterm neonates for prevention of necrotizing enterocolitis, mortality and late onset sepsis. Despite the strong evidence, the uptake of this intervention has not been universal due to concerns including probiotic sepsis, pro-inflammatory response and transmission of antibiotic resistance. Critically ill extremely preterm neonates with potentially compromised gut integrity are at higher risk of probiotic sepsis due to translocation. ⋯ Paraprobiotics (ghost probiotics), are defined as non-viable microbial cells (intact or broken) or crude cell extracts (i.e., with complex chemical composition), which, when administered (orally or topically) in adequate amounts, confer a benefit on the human or animal consumer. Current evidence indicates that paraprobiotics could be safe alternatives to probiotics in preterm neonates. High-quality pre-clinical and clinical studies including adequately powered randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are warranted in preterm neonates to explore this new frontier.