PARENTERAL NUTRITION
Parenteral nutrition is a less desirable option than enteral nutrition and should be reserved for patients in whom enteral feeding cannot be achieved.53 Wicks et al. showed that enteral feeding is as effective as parenteral feeding for maintaining nutritional status after liver transplantation, and has the benefit of decreasing complications and cost.54 There is some evidence to suggest that parenteral feeding might be superior to enteral feeding in patients with portosystemic shunting, because enteral feeding might worsen hyperammonemia in this specific patient population.55
Guidelines for meeting nutritional goals
In 1997, the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism created guidelines for meeting nutritional goals in patients with end-stage liver disease.53 They recommend initiation of enteral feeding when oral intake is inadequate. In patients with compensated cirrhosis, the guidelines recommend that patients consume 25–35 kcal/kg body weight per day of nonprotein energy and 1–1.2 g/kg body weight per day of protein or amino acids. In patients with complicated cirrhosis associated with malnutrition, nonprotein energy should be increased to 35–40 kcal/kg body weight per day and protein intake should increase to 1.5 g/kg body weight per day. According to the guidelines, protein intake should decrease to 0.5–1.5 g/kg body weight/day if stage I or II encephalopathy is present, and to 0.5 g/kg body weight/day if stage III or IV encephalopathy is present. More recent evidence suggests that protein restriction should not be recommended, even in the setting of episodic hepatic encephalopathy.56