Nutritional Support

On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Start Here

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

• Images

Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Reference Desk
• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Patient Handouts

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.

Start Here

• Artificial Hydration and Nutrition (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• What Is Nutrition Support Therapy? (American Society for Parenteral & Enteral Nutrition)

Related Issues

• Adult Catheter Care and Infection Prevention Guide (Oley Foundation) - PDF
• Central Venous Catheter (Central Line) (American Thoracic Society) - PDF
• Home Parenteral Nutrition (HPN) Complication Chart (Oley Foundation) - PDF
• Tips for Traveling with HomePEN (Oley Foundation)
• Tube Feeding Troubleshooting Guide (Oley Foundation) - PDF
• Vascular Access Procedures (American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG) (American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy) Also in Spanish
• Total Parenteral Nutrition (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists)
• 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

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Nutritional Support (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Parenteral Nutrition (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: What is the evidence for the use of parenteral nutrition...
• Article: Early enteral nutrition within 24 hours of lower gastrointestinal surgery...
• Article: Energy-Dense versus Routine Enteral Nutrition in the Critically Ill.
• Nutritional Support -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• LifeLineLetter (Oley Foundation)

Find an Expert

• Find a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics)
• Food and Drug Administration

Children

• Gastrostomy Tube (G-Tube) (Nemours Foundation)
• Weaning Preparation for Children Fed by G-Tube (Oley 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