Review of nutrition support and evaluation in stroke patients.

Malnutrition is common after stroke, usually caused by cognitive disorder, dysphagia, paralysis, sensorimotor disability and visual field defect. Many researches indicate that the initiation of early enteral nutrition in stroke patients would own enormous clinical benefits, including a decrease in the risk of death and infectious diseases, shorter hospital stay and lower health expenditure. However, irregular nutrition management could increase the incidence of hypostatic pneumonia and urinary tract infection. Therefore, both European Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ESPEN) and American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) recommended that nutrition screening and assessment and nutrition support be initiated as soon as possible, preferably within 24 h of hospital admission, to improve clinical outcomes. Chinese neurologists and patients have accepted this concept and have done many worthful studies in the past few years. This paper summarized the common methods of nutrition assessment and measurement of interstinal barrier function, in order to monitor the nutritional status of stroke patients, and push the establishment and improvement of nutrition support system for stroke patients in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]