The effect of Nutrition Support Protocols on Patient Outcomes in Intensive Care Unit: A Systematic Review

Introduction: Nutritional support is an essential component in the intensivecare unit. ICU patients than other patients are susceptible to malnutrition,because of the severity and complexity of their care. The aim of this reviewwas to determine the impact of implementing nutrition support on patientoutcomes in intensive care unit (ICU).Methods: Articles include conferences, seminars and published articles ininternational journals by using standard and sensitive keywords such asnutrition support, intensive care unit and patient outcomes were reviewed. Thearticles published in journals, databases (Science direct, PubMed, cochranelibrary, oxford, google Scholar, springer, Highwire, Ovid, Wiley, thieme, BMJclinical evidence, MD consult, up to date) between the years 2003 - 2013 whichincluded the quality control criteria for entry into systematic review. Then thearticles which included the Inclusion criteria for entry into the study wasselected and after the quality control were entered to a systematic reviewprocess.Results: From 1470 retrieved articles, seven articles were analyzed. However,Nutritional support has the positive effect on the delivery of nutrients tocritically ill patients; but regarding the studies, different nutrition supportalgorithms will have a variety of consequences (hospital mortality, length ofventilation, ICU length of stay, and hospital length of stay) in variouscommunities.Conclusion: Using a programmed nutrition protocol based on evidence usessafe methods according to patients' needs and in appropriate time will providebetter results while it will be accompanied with exact evaluation of nutritionstatus and improvement indicators.

کلیدواژه ها:

Nutrition Support ، Intensive Care Unit ، Patient Outcome ، Critical Care Unit