ABSTRACT
Nutrition is fundamental to health, yet Nightingale’s (1859/1980) claim that thousands starve in hospitals continues to be relevant, a recent international study (Cahill et al., 2010) finding that nutrition in intensive care is suboptimal. Starvation causes the body to use alternative energy sources – usually body protein (muscle), at daily rates of 1-2 per cent (Skipworth et al., 2006) and increases risks of sepsis (Ros et al., 2009). Critically ill patients lose 5-10 per cent of skeletal muscle mass each week (Griffiths, 2003), which will delay wean - ing and recovery. Early nutrition improves survival from critical illness (Doig et al., 2009; Singer et al., 2009). Feeding within 24-48 hours of disease/surgery significantly improves outcome (Artinian et al., 2006).
