Research progress on nutritional support for elderly patients in intensive care unit_West China Medical Journal

Authors：

LI Lü ^1,2 , PENG Liyuan ³ , QIAN Jinrong ⁴ , LI Lingling ⁵ , ZHOU Yaxiong ¹ , YU Haifang ¹ ,  HE Yarong ¹

1. Department of Emergency Medicine and Center for High Altitude Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, P. R. China;
2. Emergency Center, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine Hainan Hospital, Haikou, Hainan 570000, P. R. China;
3. Intensive Care Unit, Care Alliance Hetai Rehabilitation Hospital of Chengdu Tianfu New Area, Chengdu, Sichuan 610213, P. R. China;
4. Emergency Department, Chengdu First Orthopedic Hospital Xincheng Campus, Chengdu, Sichuan 610000, P. R. China;
5. Emergency Medicine Department, Hebei Provincial People’s Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050000, P. R. China;

Corresponding?author：

HE Yarong, Email: heyarong321@163.com

Keywords：

Elderly; intensive care unit; nutritional support; protein requirement; dynamic monitoring

DOI：

10.7507/1002-0179.202605140

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With the accelerating population aging process, increasing attention has been paid to the nutritional risks among elderly patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Elderly patients are often complicated by decreased physiological reserve, reduced muscle mass, multiple comorbidities, and critical illness-related hypercatabolism. Therefore, nutritional assessment and supportive therapy are featured by substantial complexity and individual heterogeneity. Focusing on the association between malnutrition and clinical outcomes in elderly ICU patients, this article reviews commonly-used nutritional risk screening and assessment tools, compares the indications and initiation timing of oral nutritional supplements, enteral nutrition and parenteral nutrition, and summarizes the principles for supplying energy, protein, fat, vitamins, trace elements and electrolytes as well as key points for therapeutic monitoring. It aims to provide references for individualized and dynamic nutritional management of elderly critically ill patients.

Citation： LI Lü, PENG Liyuan, QIAN Jinrong, LI Lingling, ZHOU Yaxiong, YU Haifang, HE Yarong. Research progress on nutritional support for elderly patients in intensive care unit. West China Medical Journal, 2026, 41(8): 1378-1383. doi: 10.7507/1002-0179.202605140 Copy

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West China Medical Journal

Research progress on nutritional support for elderly patients in intensive care unit

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