Choosing nutrition support: how and when to initiate.

Surveys have shown that malnutrition is present in approximately 50% of all hospitalized patients. With the continued reduction in length of stay in acute care facilities, it is critical that ALL patients receive a nutrition screen and, when appropriate, a comprehensive nutritional assessment. Once the nutrition evaluation has been completed, the next step is to determine the most appropriate route of nutrition intervention. This article provides some guidelines that can be used to determine the type of nutritional support to be implemented. It also contains information on access routes, benefits, and complications with interventions for both enteral tube feeding and parenteral nutrition.