Nutrition in Critical Illness

Each year around 130,000 Australians are admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU).

Of those who survive, many are discharged wasted and malnourished with the potential for delayed functional recovery and increased risk of death despite attempts at maintaining nutritional status by parenteral or enteral nutrition.

Research

Optimising nutrient delivery & absorption in critically ill patients

Associate Professor Marianne Chapman

Associate Professor Chapman's research relates to nutrition and the gastrointestinal disturbance underlying difficulties with the delivery of enteral nutrition in critical illness.

Her research has led changed management of feeding intolerance into pro-kinetics which has pioneered a novel technique for post pyloric catheter placement that facilitates feeding directly into the small intestine.

Causes and management of abnormally elevated blood glucose concentrations in the critically ill

Associate Professor Adam Deane

Associate Professor Deane's research relates to GLP-1 infusions to minimise hyperglycaemia, sweet taste receptor and glucose transporter expression in critical illness, and to determine whether 90-day mortality in critically ill patients is affected by delivery of additional energy/nutrition.