Feeding in the PICU.

Nutrition plays a vital role in maintaining and enhancing the health of an individual. As mortality within intensive care units declines because of increased expertise and better equipment, attention is being focused on better methods of feeding the critically ill child. Feeding the child is one aspect that has been relegated to the back burner of the typically busy PICU. Evidence that feeding enhances immunity, protects the gut and shortens recovery time forces us to learn to feed our patients in more effective and safer ways. This article reviews the importance of feeding, especially that of enteral feeding, in the intensive care setting. The reactions of a stressed metabolism are outlined; separate nutritional components are discussed and requirements in specific conditions are given. Parenteral nutrition remains fraught with practical difficulties in India. Metabolic and infective complications are frequent and constant monitoring coupled with the cost of these solutions raises cost beyond affordable levels. Hence the emphasis on enteral feeding, with it's proven safety, routes of administration and ready availability. The immunity enhancing properties of enteral feeding is another aspect that has gained interest in recent years. Ecoimmunonutrition is a new concept that keeps the ecology of the stressed GI tract intact while providing adequately balanced formulae along with micronutrients and fibre.