SASPEN Congress 2011: The total is greater than the sum of the parts

Abstract

When should we change our practises? An unplanned theme emerged in the first session – the time to change is now! Prof. P Wischmeyer, University of Colorado, USA, presented ample evidence that glutamine is an indispensable nutrient that needs to be supplementated in the critically ill patient. The evidence presented indicated that glutamine supplementation improved beneficially influenced such clinical parameters as length of stay (LOS), infection rate and mortality. One of the mechanisms by which glutamine mediates its beneficial effects is its effect on heat shock proteins.