Researchers studied whether starting supplemental nutrition earlier could help older patients in intensive care who were on breathing machines. They looked at 92 patients aged 60 and older who were not getting enough nutrition through feeding tubes by their third day in the ICU. Half received extra nutrition through an IV starting on day 3, while the other half started on day 7.
The group that started the IV nutrition earlier had higher levels of certain proteins in their blood by day 10, which can indicate better nutrition status. They also spent less time on the ventilator (about 26 hours less on average) and had shorter ICU stays overall (about 48 hours less on average). There was no difference in mortality between the two groups.
This was a relatively small study, and the researchers did not report on safety concerns or side effects from the IV nutrition. They also did not follow patients after they left the hospital to see if there were any long-term benefits. While these early results are promising, doctors need larger studies that look at safety and long-term outcomes before changing how they manage nutrition for critically ill patients.