Nutrition Management of Major Burn Injuries

Burn injuries are characterized by hypermetabolic and catabolic states. Despite aggressive intervention, optimizing nutrition support to match the increased metabolic demands remains challenging. Enteral feeding intolerance, found in 35% of these patients, exacerbates caloric and protein debt. In theory, early enteral nutrition could minimize nutrition deficits, but it has not been heavily explored. Ensuring nutritional adequacy is not the only intervention shown to improve outcomes in patients with major burn injuries. Additional strategies include blood glucose management and glutamine supplementation. A case is presented to demonstrate challenges and opportunities for maximizing nutrition support for patients with major burn injuries.