Background: Nutritional support is crucial in critically ill patients to enhance recovery, reduce infections, and improve outcomes. This meta-analysis compared early enteral nutrition (EEN) and early parenteral nutrition (EPN) to evaluate their efficacy in adult critically ill patients. Methods: A systematic review of 14 studies involving 7618 patients was conducted, including randomized controlled trials, prospective cohorts, and retrospective analyses. The primary outcomes were mortality and infectious complications, while secondary outcomes included intensive care unit length of stay (ICU-LOS), hospital length of stay (H-LOS), mechanical ventilation days, and gastrointestinal (GI) complications. Results: The results showed no significant difference in mortality between EEN and EPN (OR 1.03, 95% CI 0.93–1.14). EEN reduced bloodstream infections (OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.57–0.93), ICU-LOS (MD −0.18 days, 95% CI −0.33 to −0.04), and H-LOS (MD −1.15 days, 95% CI −1.38 to −0.93). However, EEN was associated with higher GI complications, such as vomiting and diarrhea (OR 2.25, 95% CI 1.97–2.58), while mechanical ventilation days showed no significant difference. Conclusions: These findings support prioritizing EEN in critically ill patients with functional gastrointestinal systems to improve infection control and recovery while emphasizing the importance of careful monitoring to mitigate gastrointestinal complications.

Seung Hwan Lee, Jae Gil Lee, Min Kwan Kwon, Jiyeon Kim, Mina Kim, Jeongyun Park, Jee Young Lee, Ye Won Sung, Bomi Kim, Seong Eun Kim, Ji Yoon Cho, A Young Lim, In Gyu Kwon, Miyoung Choi; KSPEN Guideline Committee. Ann Clin Nutr Metab 2024;16:89-111. https://doi.org/10.15747/ACNM.2024.16.3.89

Background: Micronutrient (MN) supplementation has a positive impact on clinical outcomes. However, the evidence for the impact of MN supplementation remains controversial. Therefore, our study aims to assess the impact on nutritional outcomes according to exploring the implementation of MN support with multidisciplinary collaboration. Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at a university hospital in Incheon, Korea. All patients referred to a nutrition support team (NST) between July and November 2022 were included. The NST reviews the MN protocol, which includes multivitamins and trace elements, based on international nutrient guidelines. All patients who were on nothing per oral and did not meet ≥70% of their nutritional requirements within 1 week were recommended MN supplements. Compliance with the MN protocol was evaluated, alterations in nutritional status based on the Nutrition Risk Screening 2002 (NRS 2002) scoring system and clinical outcomes were assessed after 7 day and at discharge. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with high nutritional risk in discharged patients. In addition, a sub-analysis was performed on changes in the nutritional of patients on the ward and in the ICU. Results: A total of 255 patients were eligible for analysis, with many patients requiring an MN supply of nothing per oral. The rate of implementation of MN supplementation was 50.2%. The findings indicate a significant decrease in the NRS 2002 score in the good compliance group with MN supplementation. No significant differences in protocol compliance were observed in terms of mortality, hospital stay, or length of stay in the intensive care unit. However, bad compliance with MN supplementation was correlated with risk factors for malnutrition at discharge. In subgroup analysis, nutritional status in the ICU and wards improved, with a significant difference between the two groups. Conclusions: The implementation of a MN supplementation protocol by a multidisciplinary NST is a feasible approach for improving the nutritional status of inpatients. Ensuring high compliance with this protocol is crucial, as poor compliance has been identified as a risk factor for malnutrition at discharge. Active intervention by the NST is essential to achieve optimal nutritional outcomes.

Introduction Micronutrient (MN) supplementation has a positive impact on clinical outcomes. However, the evidence for the impact of MN supplementation remains controversial. Therefore, our study aims to assess the impact on nutritional outcomes according to exploring the implementation of MN support with multidisciplinary collaboration. Methods All 255 patients referred to a nutrition support team (NST) between July and November 2022 were included. The NST reviews the MN protocol, which includes multivitamins and trace elements, based on international nutrient guidelines. All patients who were on nothing per oral and did not meet ≥ 70% of their nutritional requirements within 1 week were recommended MN supplements. Compliance with the MN protocol was evaluated, alterations in nutritional status based on the Nutrition Risk Screening 2002 (NRS 2002) scoring system and clinical outcomes were assessed after 7 day and at discharge. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with high nutritional risk in discharged patients. In addition, a sub-analysis was performed on changes in the nutritional of patients on the ward and in the intensive care unit (ICU). Results The rate of implementation of MN supplementation was 50.2%. The findings indicated a significant decrease in the NRS 2002 score in the good-compliance group with MN supplementation. No significant differences in protocol compliance were observed in terms of mortality, hospital stay, or length of stay in the intensive care unit. However, bad compliance with MN supplementation was correlated with risk factors for malnutrition at discharge. In subgroup analysis, nutritional status in the ICU and wards improved, with a significant difference between the two groups. Conclusion MN supplementation via the protocol is helpful for inpatients’ nutritional status. Therefore, bad compliance with MN supplementation has been identified as a risk factor for malnutrition at discharge, which requires active intervention by the NST.