Abstract

VIANA, Judite; BALINHA, João  and  AFONSO, Cláudia. Monitoring Gastric Residual Volume in the Critically Ill Patient. Acta Port Nutr [online]. 2017, n.10, pp.38-42. ISSN 2183-5985.  https://doi.org/10.21011/apn.2017.1006.

Critically ill patients, by all the particularities that feature them, is a real challenge in terms of nutritional support. Although international recommendations stipulate that nutritional support should be instituted as early as possible, preferably in the form of enteral nutrition when the patient’s gastrointestinal tract is functional, this is interrupted unnecessarily most of the time, damaging their nutritional status and the respective clinical outcomes. Monitoring of gastric residual volume, which lacks reasoning is one of the methodologies that often leads clinicians to discontinue enteral nutrition when aspirated gastric contents reach certain maximum volumes or where the requirement is that the patient does not tolerate the feeding. This monograph aims to balance the pros and cons of the practice of monitoring of gastric residual volume in order to assess its applicability in the intensive care unit.

Keywords : Critically ill patient; Enteral nutritional interruption; Nutritional support feeding tolerance; Gastric residual volume.

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