A review of 17 hospital feeding guidelines found none written for critical illness after surgery

What the research found

Commentary (guideline review). Chen Xin, Frances Lin, and colleagues at Flinders University and Capital Medical University appraised 17 hospital nutrition guidelines in Clinical Nutrition (doi 10.1016/j.clnu.2026.106755; EurekAlert 20 September 2026). They found extensive feeding guidance for people who are critically ill, and no guideline written for critical illness after major surgery. The review says feeding support, when it is safe, often starts in the first 24 to 48 hours, preferably through the gut, with amounts that change by injury. Severe burns may need a large protein supply very early. A badly injured bowel may need tube feeding or intravenous feeding until ordinary meals are possible. The authors argue that nutrition is part of recovery, not an extra, and that teams should look for malnutrition risk early and keep rechecking it. This is a synthesis of hospital guidelines, not a home meal plan and not a trial that assigned a diet. Educational notes for care teams and families.

Evidence level: Human study. A study in people, but an association isn't proof of cause.

Read the original at Flinders University / EurekAlert