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Summary
Nutritional support is therapy for people who cannot get enough nourishment by eating or drinking. You may need it if you :
- Can't swallow
- Have problems with your appetite
- Are severely malnourished
- Can't absorb nutrients through your digestive system
You receive nutritional support through a needle or catheter placed in your vein or with a feeding tube, which goes into your stomach.
Related Issues
- Central Venous Catheter (Central Line) (American Thoracic Society) - PDF
- Tube Feeding Troubleshooting Guide (Oley Foundation) - PDF
Specifics
- Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG) (American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy) Also in Spanish
- What Is Enteral Nutrition? (American Society for Parenteral & Enteral Nutrition) Also in Spanish
Images
- Gastrostomy tube placement - slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Nutritional Support
(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Parenteral Nutrition
(National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Impact of early nutrition and feeding route on clinical outcomes of...
- Article: Association between early nutrition support and 28-day mortality in critically ill...
- Article: In vitro chemotherapy-associated muscle toxicity is attenuated with nutritional support, while...
- Nutritional Support -- see more articles
Find an Expert
- Find a Nutrition Expert (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics)
- Food and Drug Administration
Children
- Central Lines (Central Venous Catheters) (Nemours Foundation)
- Implanted Ports (Nemours Foundation)
- Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC Line) (Nemours Foundation)
- Tunneled Central Lines (Nemours Foundation)
Patient Handouts
- Feeding tube - infants (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Gastrostomy feeding tube - bolus (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Gastrostomy feeding tube - pump (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Jejunostomy feeding tube (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Nasogastric feeding tube (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- PEG tube insertion -- discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish