Seven out of ten patients hospitalized in Intensive Care Units (ICU) have malnutrition due to a lack of specialized nutritional support professionals and nutritional support units, said Guillermo Contreras, head of Critical Units of Clínica Ricardo Palma

An ICU is the area where alterations in the vital signs of patients with some serious condition are constantly monitored and treated. According to the specialist, for a patient to receive correct care, it is necessary that health professionals are highly educated and trained properly

“Nutritional support is a pillar in this care and it requires having all the equipment to monitor the nutrition and feeding of patients, as well as nutritional support units that collaborate for the best result for the patient.

Dr. Contreras added that the need to allocate budgets for supplies, tools and high-tech equipment, this is an improvement opportunity for ICU in the country, vital to the recovery of critically-ill patients

“More attention and concern is needed from the authorities to reduce the numbers of clinical malnutrition in the ICU, a condition that complicates the recovery of a patient. It is necessary to implement more specialized nutritional support units at national level, considering the existing demand. Currently, we have approximately 75 Intensive Care Units throughout Peru, ” he explained.

Among the main roles of the Intensive Care Units, besides administering the patients’ nutritional support, are: evaluate and treat the functions of all organs and systems of the organism, and of the hemodynamic instability, that is to say the hypotension and hypertension, assess respiratory and renal compromise, mechanical and other measures of advanced life support. In other words, everything that keeps us alive when fighting a serious disease

“Doctors, nurses and specialists who look after the care in this area, we need to be clear that, before treating any disease or negative condition, we must confirm if the patient has enough nutrients to assimilate the recovery process

On the other hand, he referred to the work that the Government must accomplish to improve the problem. “Authorities have as a mission to take advantage of the technology to improve the monitoring and training of the ICU staff, training more specialized nutritional support units”, concluded Dr. Contreras

Dr. Guillermo Contreras
Head of Critical Units of Clínica Ricardo Palma