Nutrition protocols improve caloric adequacy in critically Ill children: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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Malnutrition is prevalent among critically ill children in the PICU, leading to adverse outcomes such as prolonged mechanical ventilation and increased mortality.
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Structured nutritional protocols significantly improve caloric adequacy, with a pooled mean difference of +21.98% in caloric delivery among critically ill pediatric patients.
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The study included nine studies with 1,992 children across six countries, demonstrating substantial heterogeneity in caloric delivery outcomes.
4

Both nurse-led and non-nurse-led nutritional protocols improved caloric delivery without significant differences in effectiveness between the two.
5

The findings support the adoption of standardized feeding protocols to enhance nutritional care in PICUs globally.

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