Nutritional support of burn patients

Major thermal injury is characterized by a hypermetabolic response. Failure to provide burn patients with sufficient exogenous caloric and nitrogen intake results in pronounced weight loss, impaired wound healing, decreased host resistance to infection, and cellular dysfunction. Nutritional therapy should be directed at environmental control, prevention of infection, early wound closure, progressive physical activity, and the provision of sufficient exogenous calories and nitrogen to prevent unnecessary catabolic sequelae. During the past 10 years, new methods have emerged for providing better nutrition to severely burned patients. As a result, morbid complications of prolonged catabolism have been significantly reduced, and survival of patients with major thermal injury has been markedly enhanced .