[Artificial nutrition in hyperglycemia and diabetes mellitus in critically ill patients]. / Nutrición artificial en la hiperglucemia y diabetes mellitus en pacientes críticos.

The need to strictly control glucose levels, even in nondiabetic patients, has recently emerged following the publication of the results that indicate the possibility of reducing the morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients. Since hyperglycemia is one of the most frequent metabolic impairments in these patients, insulin therapy is a necessity in most of the cases. In order to prevent hyperglycemia and its associated complications, nutritional support must be adjusted to the patient's requirements, avoiding hyponutrition. Whenever possible, nutrients supply should be done through the digestive route. Parenteral nutrition is more often accompanied by hyperglycemia and requires an increase in insulin dosage to control it. There are two types of enteral diets designed to help controlling hyperglycemic conditions: carbohydrates rich diets, and fat rich diets. In general terms, carbohydrates rich diets may be recommended in type 1 diabetic patients who are in a stable condition, and fat rich diets in type 2 diabetes and in stress hyperglycemia. In both cases, the use of low glycemic index carbohydrates is recommended. Protein intake should be adjusted to the patients' metabolic stress level. In diabetic patients with acute disease, an increase in antioxidants intake is recommended.

[Artificial nutrition in hematopoietic stem cells transplantation]. / Nutrición artificial en el trasplante de células precursoras hematopoyéticas.

Patients submitted to hematopoietic stem cells transplantation (HSCT) have an increased risk for having hyponutrition, both in the phase prior to transplantation and after this one. The indication of specialized nutritional support is common in allogenic HSCT, whereas patients submitted to auto-HSCT need it in the presence of complications that compromise an adequate nutrients intake. Enteral nutrition through a nasogastric tube has difficulties in these patients; the presence of mucositis delays the indication for enteral nutrition, which usually is poorly tolerated. Thus, frequently parenteral nutrition needs to be used as the route for nutritional support. The use of specific substrates, such as glutamine, is a controversial issue.

[Recommendations for nutritional assessment and specialized nutritional support of critically ill patients]. / Recomendaciones para la valoración nutricional y el soporte nutricional especializado de los pacientes críticos.

Due to the characteristics of critically ill patients, elaborating recommendations on nutritional support for these patients is difficult. Usually the time of onset of nutritional support or its features are not well established, so that its application is based on experts' opinion. In the present document, recommendations formulated by the Metabolism and Nutrition Working Group of the Spanish Society of Intensive and Critical Medicine and Coronary Units (SEMICYUC) are presented. Recommendations are based on the literature analysis and further discussion by the working group members in order to define, consensually, the more relevant issues of metabolic and nutritional support of patients in a critical condition. Several clinical situations have been considered which are developed in the following articles of this publication. The present recommendations aim at providing a guideline for the less experienced clinicians when considering the metabolic and nutritional issues of critically ill patients.