Clinical Guidelines for the Use of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition in Adult and Pediatric Patients, 2009

The American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (A.S.P.E.N.) is an organization comprised of healthcare professionals representing the disciplines of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dietetics, and nutrition science. The mission of A.S.P.E.N. is to improve patient care by advancing the science and practice of nutrition support therapy. A.S.P.E.N. vigorously works to support quality patient care, education, and research in the fields of nutrition and metabolic support in all healthcare settings. Promotion of safe and effective patient care by nutrition support practitioners is a critical role of the A.S.P.E.N. organization. To this end, in 1993 and 2002, the A.S.P.E.N. Board of Directors published “Guidelines for the Use of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition in Adult and Pediatric Patients.” The Guidelines were created in accordance with Institute of Medicine recommendations as “systematically developed statements to assist practitioner and patient decisions about appropriate healthcare for specific clinical circumstances.” These Guidelines, designed for use by healthcare professionals who provide nutrition support services and their patients, offer clinical advice for managing adult and pediatric (including adolescent) patients in inpatient and outpatient (ambulatory, home, and specialized care) settings. The utility of the Guidelines is attested to by the frequent citation of this document in peer-reviewed publications, and their frequent use by A.S.P.E.N. members and other healthcare professionals in clinical practice, academia, research, and industry. They guide professional clinical activities, they are helpful as educational tools, and they influence institutional practices and resource allocation. The A.S.P.E.N. Board of Directors has developed a mechanism to be applied in future guideline development. The objectives for this updated version (now titled as “Clinical Guidelines”) are: