Nutritional Implications of Patients with Dysautonomia and Hypermobility Syndromes.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Dysautonomia and hypermobility syndrome are two distinct but often overlapping clinical conditions that are recognized for their complex multiorgan system afflictions. The purpose of this review is to investigate dietary strategies to reduce symptoms and augment quality of life in this growing patient population. RECENT FINDINGS: There is increasing evidence supporting dietary modifications to include food rich in probiotics and prebiotics, along with fiber supplements to reduce gastrointestinal symptoms. Adequate salt and fluid intake may reduce orthostatic hypotension symptoms. Dietary supplements may help with osteoarticular, musculoskeletal, and fatigue symptoms. Individualized diet strategies and supplements can reduce the multiorgan system symptoms observed in dysautonomia and hypermobility syndrome.

Nutrition Therapy in Critically Ill Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019.

In the midst of a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a paucity of data precludes derivation of COVID-19-specific recommendations for nutrition therapy. Until more data are available, focus must be centered on principles of critical care nutrition modified for the constraints of this disease process, ie, COVID-19-relevant recommendations. Delivery of nutrition therapy must include strategies to reduce exposure and spread of disease by providing clustered care, adequate protection of healthcare providers, and preservation of personal protective equipment. Enteral nutrition (EN) should be initiated early after admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) using a standard isosmolar polymeric formula, starting at trophic doses and advancing as tolerated, while monitoring for gastrointestinal intolerance, hemodynamic instability, and metabolic derangements. Intragastric EN may be provided safely, even with use of prone-positioning and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Clinicians should have a lower threshold for switching to parenteral nutrition in cases of intolerance, high risk of aspiration, or escalating vasopressor support. Although data extrapolated from experience in acute respiratory distress syndrome warrants use of fiber additives and probiotic organisms, the lack of benefit precludes a recommendation for micronutrient supplementation. Practices that increase exposure or contamination of equipment, such as monitoring gastric residual volumes, indirect calorimetry to calculate requirements, endoscopy or fluoroscopy to achieve enteral access, or transport out of the ICU for additional imaging, should be avoided. At all times, strategies for nutrition therapy need to be assessed on a risk/benefit basis, paying attention to risk for both the patient and the healthcare provider.

Practical Application of the Revised Guidelines for the Provision and Assessment of Nutrition Support Therapy in the Adult Critically Ill Patient: A Case Study Approach.

BACKGROUND: Nutrition therapy is an essential component of the care plan for critically ill and injured patients. There is consensus that critically ill patients are at risk for malnutrition, and the associated consequences of increased infectious morbidity, multiorgan dysfunction, prolonged hospitalization, and disproportionate mortality can be minimized with specialized enteral and/or parenteral nutrition therapy. METHODS: In this article, we describe 2 case studies that are intended to introduce the nutrition support clinician to key updates in the recently released Guidelines for Provision and Assessment of Nutrition Support Therapy in the Adult Critically Ill Patient: Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) and American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (A.S.P.E.N.). RESULTS: The case studies demonstrate a pragmatic approach to nutrition therapy in the intensive care unit (ICU) and are intended to elicit dialogue for timely, appropriate nutrition care at policy meetings, professional conferences, and ICU daily rounds. CONCLUSIONS: While explicitly stated in the formal document, it is worth repeating that the guidelines are directed toward generalized patient populations, but as with any therapeutic intervention in the ICU, nutrition therapy should be tailored to the individual patient. In addition, protocols and procedures should reflect the local institutional culture and meet with approval of critical care clinicians.

Does the use of specialized proresolving molecules in critical care offer a more focused approach to controlling inflammation than that of fish oils?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The literature regarding the use of fish oils in the critically ill to limit the inflammatory and catabolic response have been inconsistent. The objective of this manuscript is to review a newly discovered class of specialized proresolving molecules (SPMs), which could help elucidate the discrepancies reported in the critical care literature regarding the anti-inflammatory benefits of fish oil/ω-3 fatty acids. RECENT FINDINGS: Although use of fish oil has traditionally been thought to reduce or limit the inflammatory process in the critical ill, a new class of endogenously produced highly active lipid mediators derived from arachidonic acid and ω-3 fatty acids (lipoxins, resolvins, protectins, and maresins) have been shown to actively enhance resolution of inflammation. These SPMs stimulate the cardinal signs of resolution of inflammation, which include the cessation of leukocytic infiltration, a countering of the effects of proinflammatory mediators, stimulation of the uptake of apoptotic neutrophils, promotion of the clearance of necrotic cellular debris, and enhancement of the host's ability to eliminate microbial invasion. SUMMARY: By actively turning off inflammation (instead of simply attenuating its natural course), SPMs have shown more consistent effects in decreasing pain and risk of sepsis, increasing epithelialization and wound healing, promoting tissue regeneration, potentiating the effects of antibiotics, and enhancing adaptive immunity.

Guidelines for the Provision and Assessment of Nutrition Support Therapy in the Adult Critically Ill Patient: Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) and American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN)

A.S.P.E.N. and SCCM are both nonprofit organizations com-posed of multidisciplinary healthcare professionals. The mis-sion of A.S.P.E.N. is to improve patient care by advancing the science and practice of clinical nutrition and metabolism. The mission of SCCM is to secure the highest-quality care for all critically ill and injured patients.

Perioperative Nutritional Intervention: Where Are We?

As we look forward in 2015, attention to perioperative surgical nutrition continues to play a key role in optimizing outcomes and enhancing surgical recovery. Nutrition therapies for preoperative preparation include high protein intake combined with exercise, immune- and metabolic-modulating nutrients, carbohydrate loading, probiotic therapy and, occasionally, the need for specialized enteral or parenteral nutrition. Early enteral nutrition and probiotic therapy optimize gastrointestinal integrity and function in the postoperative setting. Some questions of who, when and how to optimally feed the surgical patient still exist. Despite these questions, the abundance of evidence supports a determined focus for nutrition optimization prior to major surgery.

Nutritional Therapy for Critically Ill Patients.

Nutrition therapy provided early in the critical care setting has been shown to improve outcome. Appropriate and early nutrition interventions can attenuate the hyperdynamic systemic response and depressed immune reaction to injury, serious illness and major surgery. Controversies limit the uniform application and potential benefits of nutrition, including failure to accurately predict who will 'need' nutritional intervention, lack of consensus on what the optimal enteral formulation is, overreliance on parenteral nutrition, failure to maximize the use of early enteral nutrition (EN), and how much and how best to feed the morbidly obese population. Despite challenges and inconsistencies in today's critical care setting, specialized nutrition has evolved from metabolic 'support' during critical illness to a primary therapeutic intervention designed, individualized and focused to achieve metabolic optimization and mitigation of stress-induced immune and hyperdynamic systemic responses. Nutrition should be considered early and commenced after initial resuscitation has taken place. This is most effectively accomplished with the use of protocols that aggressively promote early EN, and will result in lower mortality and a reduction in major complications. Though the complexity of the heterogeneous critically ill population will always be challenging, we are developing a better understanding of immunity, metabolic needs and catabolism associated with intensive care unit admissions.