Full Description
The importance of trying to meet the optimum nutritional requirements of patients according to the disease states to which they are subject - including such states as are induced by surgery or trauma - has been accepted for half a century. The new study and practice of clinical nutrition has developed in association with industry that has for example continued to introduce new formulae for feeding to ill patients in conjunction with new feeding methods and monitoring techniques. The patient's requirements take account of the individual's nutritional status as indicated by energy expenditure based on measurements of nitrogen excretion and exhalation. The rough conversion factor used is 6.5. But it is known that in various conditions different values need to be adopted. The conditions that affect these values are known as stressors. The author points out that the published research underlying values normally used is scarce. He also extends the study to many more stressors than those usually acknowledged in practice.More than 300 references support the discussion of stressors and conversion values in a wide variety of diseases states and provide what may be the best available introduction to further research in this important field.
