The choice of enteral formula in patients in the acute period of critical ill with brain damage in the neurocritical care unit

Abstract

Nutritional support is an important and integral part of the treatment process for critically ill patients. Patients after neurosurgical interventions and patients with damage to the central nervous system, for example, due to acute ischemic stroke, may be due to the severity of the condition in the intensive care unit. This is a separate category of patients and nutritional support for this category of patients has its own characteristics. Enteral nutrition, as the most physiological type of nutrition, should be an integral part of the treatment process in the intensive care unit. In patients in the acute period of a severe condition with brain damage, in addition to the metabolic response to damage, there are also factors that limit the implementation of enteral nutrition: the brain damage itself, being in intensive care, and methods of intensive therapy. The choice of an enteral formula in this category of patients is complex and fundamental to provide adequate nutritional support to cover energy and protein requirements. The purpose of this scientific review is to highlight the issues of choosing a mixture for enteral nutrition of patients in the neurocritical care unit who are in the acute period of a critical ill.