Pharmaconutrition in Critical Care

The concept of “pharmaconutrition” refers to specific nutrients administered at pharmacological levels, while “immunonutrition” is the use of specific nutritional substrates having the ability of modulating specific mechanisms involved in several immune and inflammatory pathways. Macronutrients such as arginine, glutamine, and ω-3 fatty acids and micronutrients may have distinct effects, including enhancing immune response activity that could benefit critically ill patients. In the chapter micronutrients and probiotics, prebiotics or symbiotics are also discussed.