The stress response to injury and infection: Role of nutritional support

The negative impact of the stress response to surgery or illness is well do cumented. The marked increase in energy demands and rapid erosion of lean b ody mass lead to significant morbidity including impaired wound healing. Th e key components of optimal nutritional support for the compromised patient are also well documented. These components include, first and foremost, th e assessment and provision of the calories needed to meet energy demands an d sufficient protein for protein synthesis, including enough for wound heal ing. Second, sufficient micronutrients must be provided to optimize metabol ism. Third, anabolic hormones can be a valuable addition to nutrition to he lp restore lean mass and improve healing. Finally, optimizing nutrition is now considered a standard of care for wound management to achieve optimum r esults.