From Survival to Recovery: Building Integrated Nutritional Care from ICU to Home

Advances in critical care have transformed outcomes for patients facing serious illness. Today, more patients than ever are surviving critical illness and returning home sooner, reflecting significant progress in modern healthcare¹.

As survival continues to improve, healthcare professionals are increasingly focused on another important goal: helping patients recover well after they leave the intensive care unit (ICU).

The impact of critical illness can extend far beyond an ICU stay. Many survivors experience ongoing physical, cognitive and psychological challenges during recovery, often described as Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS). More than 50% of ICU survivors are estimated to develop PICS. This may affect independence, quality of life, functional outcomes and long-term recovery^2-4.

Adequate nutrition is increasingly recognized as an important component of recovery, yet research indicates that one in two post-ICU patients do not meet their nutritional requirements⁵.

The transition from ICU to the hospital ward is often a critical stage in the recovery journey. Findings from the PROSPECT studies, which evaluated nutritional intake following ICU discharge, showed that patients relying on oral intake alone on the ward consumed less than 50% of their nutritional needs. Nutritional adequacy was also shown to decline when enteral nutrition was discontinued early, highlighting the challenges of maintaining nutritional support during care transitions⁶.

These findings highlight how difficult it can be to maintain nutritional adequacy as patients transition from ICU to the ward, rehabilitation and ultimately home. Recovery starts in the ICU, where timely enteral nutrition plays an important role, and continues long after patients leave intensive care⁷.

As a result, increasing attention is being given to how nutritional care can be better integrated across the patient journey, from ICU through rehabilitation and recovery at home.