Nutritional Support

Abstract Nutritional support is an essential component of the management of critically ill neurological patients who go through different metabolic phases: an early catabolic phase (days 4–7), a late metabolically neutral phase, and a recovery, anabolic phase. For this patient population, evidence on the assessment of nutritional risk, the use of enteral or parenteral nutrition, access for enteral nutrition, the dose of macronutrients, and management of enteral nutrition intolerance is derived mainly from randomized clinical trials in the general critical care population. Specific aspects impacting nutritional support in critically ill neurological patients include swallowing disorders and the potential use of the ketogenic diet in certain indications.