Nutrition, PICU, Initiation and Advancement — Patients Requiring Nutrition Support — Clinical Pathway: ICU and Inpatient

Nutrition Initiation and Advancement Clinical Pathway — PICU/PCU

All PICU Patients Requiring Nutrition Support

The pathway should be initiated as early as possible following PICU admission but no later than Day #2. Initiate enteral feeds if the patient can be fed for at least 6 hours prior to any procedure (e.g. extubation, MRI, transport).

This pathway should guide the care of:

  • Patients admitted to the PICU who do not meet the exclusion criteria below.

Exclusion Criteria

  • Patients already on oral feeds and/or home feeding regimen or those with a plan to start oral feeds/home feeding regimen
  • General Surgery/Trauma patients
  • Patients with a metabolic disorder
  • Intestinal rehabilitation program patients
  • Patients requiring a ketogenic diet

Consultation of the applicable service is needed for each of these patient populations.

Patients with unique home recipes and/or home feeding regimens require a team discussion for initiation and advancement of nutrition.