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Inadequate oral intake in surgical patients: a rational indication for nutritional support
Author(s) -
Townsend Sara,
Palmer Diane,
MacFie John
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of human nutrition and dietetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.951
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1365-277X
pISSN - 0952-3871
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-277x.1997.00053.x
Subject(s) - medicine , intensive care medicine , audit , clinical practice , family medicine , management , economics
Seven days or more of inadequate oral intake (IOI) inevitably results in a deterioration in nutritional status. Despite this well‐known fact, little information is available as to the frequency with which such periods of IOI occur in clinical practice. This study results from an audit of IOI in a gastroenterological unit over a 6‐month period. The results demonstrate that 17% of patients sustained significant periods of IOI of 7 days or longer. This has important implications with regard to the provision of adjuvant nutritional support.