ABSTRACT
Enteral nutrition (EN) is a method of artifi cial nutritional support commonly used in patients in the hospital or community setting. Diarrhoea can occur in 2%–95% of patients, the wide range resulting from differences in the patient populations and the defi nition of diarrhoea adopted (Whelan 2007). It may result in a number of negative clinical sequelae, including fl uid and electrolyte abnormalities, faecal incontinence andpressure sores. This is a frequent reason for discrepancies between prescription and intake of EN in hospitalized patients (Martins et al. 2012) and may even result in the cessation of EN, which may exacerbate under nutrition and its associated consequences of increased morbidity and mortality. Importantly, diarrhoea is also distressing and burdensome for both patients and their carers (Majid
1 Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences Division, King’s College London, 150 Stamford Street, London, SE1 9NH, United Kingdom.
