Nutrition support in pancreatitis. Curtis CS, Kudsk KA. Department of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison Hospital and Clinics, 600 Highland Avenue, CSC - 1530 F6/133, Madison, WI 53792, USA. Nutrition support is especially important in patients who have pancreatitis, as these patients have high metabolic needs and are usually unable to ingest sufficient calories from an oral diet because of pain or intestinal dysfunction. Clinicians must assess severity of the disease carefully, as initiation and timing of nutrition support are crucial. Depending on the severity, early nutrition support may be unnecessary, while late support ultimately may lead to worse outcomes. Route of nutrition support also plays an important role in treatment. The clinician has many alternatives from which to choose, including enteral nutrition given nasogastrically or nasojejunally, or parenteral nutrition given through a central line. This article explores the role of nutrition support in the outcome of pancreatitis and provides guidelines to aid the clinician in caring for patients who have acute and chronic pancreatitis. PMID: 18053838 [PubMed - in process] Surg Clin North Am. 2007 Dec;87(6):1403-15. Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.