What is the best nutritional support for critically ill patients?

Optimum nutritional support in critical illness remains controversial. A recent review ofnutritional interventions in the ICU concluded that few of them improved clinical outcomes. In ourview, it is a serious shortcoming of these trials that they focused on calories, falling far short of currentrecommendations for protein provision. Well designed clinical trials that ensure sufficient protein provisionare urgently needed if we are to improve the quality of nutritional support in the ICU.