Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition

Stress and starvation, especially when complicated by sepsis, will give rise to a rapid erosion of the cellular mass, which significantly affects morbidity and mortality. The best clinical evaluation of the nutritional state is obtained from the medical history and the physical examination. In the patient who cannot eat a balanced diet, specialized nutritional support, in the form of either enteral or parenteral nutrition, is required to prevent malnutrition in the normally nourished, or to correct the nutritional state in the malnourished.