Nutrition support and clinical outcomes of children in a pediatric intensive care unit

The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the impact of enteral nutrition (EN) support factors on days of mechanical ventilation (MV) and length of stay (LOS) in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) among subjects age 3 7 weeks to 21 years. Specifically, nutrition support factors included a) days to reach prescribed calories, b) days to reach prescribed protein, c) percentage of prescribed calories received, and d) percentage of prescribed protein received through the use of EN. Purposive sampling was used to select subjects that received nutrition support in the PICU. Data was collected via chart review within the time frame January 1, 2011 to August 1, 2013. The results demonstrated MV days and LOS were significantly different for patients who reached prescribed calories and protein within 72 hours of admission. LOS was also significantly different for patients who received at least 80% prescribed calories