[Laboratory and calorimetric monitoring of medical nutrition therapy in intensive and intermediate care units : Second position paper of the Section Metabolism and Nutrition of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (DIVI)]

[Recommendations and Innovations in Nutritional Medicine in Critically Ill Patients]

Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) is a key component of treatment in intensive care units (ICU) and plays a crucial role in the prognosis of critically ill patients. An individualized nutrition strategy is essential to meet the specific needs of critically ill patients and to minimize potential complications.Recommendations for MNT differ between the guidelines of the German Society for Nutritional Medicine (DGEM), the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN), and the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (A.S.P.E.N.), making its implementation in clinical practice challenging. Therefore, the first part of this article provides a pragmatic summary of the current recommendations for everyday clinical practice. The second part focuses on recent data and how these might influence current paradigms of MNT for critically ill patients, with particular emphasis on phase-appropriate macronutrient delivery and combinations of nutrition with other interventions.

[Monitoring of Medical Nutrition Therapy and Calorie Intake - Challenges and Solutions]

The Section Metabolism and Nutrition of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (DIVI) recently published two position papers specifying some aspects of the guideline on clinical nutrition for critically ill patients published by the German Society for Nutritional Medicine in 2018. This article provides a condensed overview for clinical practice; some key aspects of these position papers are presented focussing on the monitoring of energy expenditure and macronutrient administration.

Toward Precision in Nutrition Therapy

Precision in critical care nutrition is paramount, as it focuses nutrition interventions on those patients most likely to benefit, or those who might potentially be harmed. Critical care nutrition must therefore be tailored to individual metabolic needs as determined by factors that control the capacity for tissue homeostasis and anabolic responses. This ideally involves the accurate and timely assessment of macronutrient and micronutrient requirements, a careful evaluation of metabolic response mechanisms and the identification of circumstances that might interfere with the productive utilization of dietary substrates. Specific surrogate markers of metabolic response, such as blood glucose levels, urea levels, or nitrogen balance, might be used to evaluate the metabolic readiness for nutrition and to establish the timing, nature, and clinical effectiveness of nutrition interventions. Despite the pressing need to further develop more targeted approaches in critically ill patients, indices of immediate metabolic responses that correlate with favorable clinical outcomes are lacking. In addition, the development of precision approaches might address timely adjustments in protein, energy, or micronutrient supplementation based on evolving clinical conditions. Here, we review why precision tools are needed in critical care nutrition, our progress thus far, as well as promising approaches and technologies by which multidisciplinary healthcare teams can improve quality of care and clinical outcomes by individualizing nutrition interventions.

Influence of age on biochemical serum parameters in female alpacas - A retrospective study

The determination of biochemical parameters plays an important role in the veterinary care of alpacas, as it can provide an overview of the integrity and function of various organs and metabolic states. Various reference intervals are available for interpreting biochemical results in alpacas, but physiological variations due to age, sex or season should also be considered. Particularly, information on the influence of age is scarce. In a retrospective study, we examined 17 measured and three calculated biochemical parameters of 21 healthy female alpacas from a research herd over a period of nine years. We found significant positive correlations between age and serum triglycerides, selenium, vitamin E, urea, urea/creatinine ratio, calcium/phosphate ratio and significant negative correlations between age and aspartate aminotransferase activity, calcium and phosphate. However, our results differ to some extent from those found in the literature comparing changes in biochemical parameters between juvenile and adult alpacas. Overall, our data suggest that some biochemical parameters in adult alpacas are subject to physiological changes with age, which should be considered when interpreting laboratory results in this species.

S3-Leitlinie Klinische Ernährung bei Pankreaserkrankungen

Sowohl die akute als auch die chronische Pankreatitis sind häufige Erkrankungen, die ein erhebliches Risiko für eine Mangelernährung mit sich bringen und eine Ernährungstherapie erfordern können. In ca. 20% der akuten Pankreatitiden tritt eine nekrotisierende Pankreatitis auf, die mit einer erhöhten Morbidität und Mortalität verbunden ist. Hier ist oftmals eine Ernährungstherapie mittels einer enteralen oder parenteralen Ernährung notwendig, die neben medikamentösen, endoskopischen, radiologischen oder chirurgischen Maßnahmen eine etablierte Säule der multimodalen Therapie darstellt.

Bei der chronischen Pankreatitis handelt es sich um eine chronische Entzündung der Bauchspeicheldrüse mit Entwicklung einer Fibrose und langfristig Atrophie des Organs. Bauchschmerzen, die zu einer verminderten oralen Aufnahme von Nährstoffen führen, sowie exokrines und endokrines Versagen sind häufige Komplikationen der Krankheit. All diese Faktoren stellen Risikofaktoren für eine Unter- bzw. Mangelernährung dar. Daher sollten Patienten mit chronischer Pankreatitis als ernährungsmedizinische Risikopatienten betrachtet, untersucht und entsprechend behandelt werden. Darüber hinaus sollte bei Patienten mit chronischer Pankreatitis auf Osteoporose und ein erhöhtes Frakturrisiko geachtet werden, und entsprechende Präventivmaßnahmen erwogen werden.

Energy Expenditure in Critically Ill Patients with Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage, Intracerebral Hemorrhage, and Traumatic Brain Injury-A Prospective Observational Study

BACKGROUND

Energy expenditure (EE) in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) may differ from other intracranial pathologies, such as intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) or traumatic brain injury (TBI), due to an activation of the sympathetic nervous system. Indirect calorimetry (IC) is recommended, but is not always available. We study EE, catabolism, and metabolic stress in patients with SAH, TBI, ICH, and sepsis as controls.

METHODS

A prospective observational study was conducted in the intensive care units of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany. IC was used to measure EE on days 2-3, 5-7, and 10-15 post-admission. Urinary catecholamines, metabolites, and urine urea were also measured. Statistical analysis included t-tests, Chi-square tests, and generalized mixed models.

RESULTS

We included 110 patients-43 SAH patients (13 with the surgical securing of the aneurysm and 30 with coil embolization of the aneurysm), 22 TBI patients, 23 ICH patients, and 22 controls. The generalized linear mixed model analysis for groups and timepoints including age, height, and weight as covariates revealed a significantly lower EE at timepoint 1 for ICH versus SAH-interventional (p = 0.003) and versus the control (p = 0.004), as well as at timepoint 2 for ICH versus SAH-interventional (p = 0.002) and versus SAH-surgical (p = 0.013) with a lower EE in ICH patients. No significant differences between groups were found for EE at the other timepoints, or concerning urine urea and measurements of catecholamines in urine.

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with SAH, ICH, and TBI, no meaningful differences in EE were detected compared to septic critically ill patients, except for a lower EE in ICH patients in the early phase.