Nutritional facts in critically ill patients: The past, present and the future

Abstract

Nutrition in critically ill patients has traversed a long journey ever since its introduction in the pre-historic times. The nineteenth and the twentieth century have seen a flurry of advancements in enteral and parenteral nutritional practices which have given birth to modern day critical nutrition. The transition has been gradual which has led to evidence based nutritional practices leading to improved outcome in critically ill patients. The advancements have also enabled the answering of many controversial aspects related to nutrition in intensive care unit patients. The future of nutritional supplementation in critically ill patients holds well as many vital areas are being worked upon in numerous randomized clinical controlled trials throughout the globe. The current review describes a long journey of various facts related to critical care nutrition from the past to present and possible clinical status in future.