Parenteral Nutrition for the Infrequent Utilizer

Purpose of Review Parenteral nutrition (PN) allows clinicians the ability to provide nutritional support to patients that are unable to meet their nutritional needs through oral or enteral nutrition alone. Therefore, PN is a lifesaving and/or life-sustaining therapy for patients. Most clinicians will encounter patients on PN at some point, but for the infrequent utilizer of PN, PN management can seem complicated and overwhelming. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to provide a succinct review of PN for the infrequent utilizer. Recent Findings The impact and use of PN is multifaceted and can be identified through the recent published literature. Modulation of injectable lipid emulsions (ILEs) on clinical outcomes has been a research focus, and major governing nutritional bodies continue to publish guidelines to assist providers in PN management. Summary Since the 1960’s, the clinical management of PN has evolved and continued to be refined. It is important for the prescribing clinician to understand appropriate indications for PN as well as have strong understanding of the components of PN to balance the risks and benefits of PN.