Nutrition for Hospitalized Patients: Nutritional Care for Adult and Paediatric Patients Hospitalized in Surgical and Intensive Care Units

Surgical procedures and trauma are a shock to the body and provoke a metabolic stress response, which impacts the patient’s nutritional status by inducing changes in how all nutrients are metabolized (fats, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals). The response is initiated and orchestrated by a multitude of neuroendocrine and cytokine mediators as well as the release of stress hormones. These guidelines provide professionals in the field an understanding and overview of the nutritional care required for adult and paediatric patients who are hospitalized in surgical and intensive care units.