What is already known about this topic?
Nutritional support is defined as the prescription of formulated enteral
or parenteral nutrients to the patients who cannot meet their
nutritional requirements through normal diets in order to maintain and
enhance their nutritional status. In the late 1970s, EN support was in
its infancy, and only 16 enteral formulas were available. Within the
past few decades, these formulas have increased dramatically. As such,
selecting the most appropriate formula is rather challenging considering
the wide array of the available formulas. However, only a few
prospective, randomized, controlled interventions support the claimed
indications for the specific formulas that are currently available on
the market . In the past two decades, numerous clinical studies have
investigated the role of antioxidant micronutrients in the form of
monotherapy or polytherapy in the mortality and clinical outcomes of
critically ill patients. Accordingly, pharmaconutrition and
immunomodulatory formulas have beneficial effects, which are associated
with the negative regulation of pro-inflammatory responses in patients
with trauma, sepsis, and other inflammatory injuries. Nevertheless,
evidence regarding the benefits of these formulas remains controversial
.