Grains or Veins: Is Enteral Nutrition Really Better Than Parenteral Nutrition?
Timothy O. Lipman, MD, Gastroenterology-Hepatology-Nutrition Section, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Washington, DC, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC Background: Enteral nutrition is said to be better than parenteral nutrition for providing nutrition support to humans. Purpose: To assess the literature documenting the assertions that enteral nutrition is superior to parenteral nutrition with respect to cost, safety, physiology, intestinal structure and function, bacterial translocation, and outcome. Data identification: Sources included MEDLINE search, personal files, and references from human comparative studies of enteral vs parenteral nutrition. Study selection: The goal was to include all human studies directly addressing questions of comparative efficacy of enteral and parenteral nutrition. Emphasis was given to prospective randomized controlled studies where available. Retrospective comparisons were not included. Data extraction: An attempt
