Glutamine and acute illness.

This is a literature review over a time period of the past 2 years concerning glutamine in clinical nutrition. Emphasis is put upon studies of glutamine in clinical settings, but a brief overview of the large range of literature over the role of glutamine in various experimental settings is also included. The most interesting concept for the past 2 years is the suggestion to use plasma glutamine concentration at admission to the intensive care unit as a prognostic marker and as a possible indicator for indication of glutamine supplementation.