Daren K. Heyland, MD, FRCPC, MSc
Professor of Medicine
Director of Research, Critical Care Programme
Director, Clinical Evaluation Research Unit
Department of Medicine and
Department of Community Health & Epidemiology
Kingston General Hospital, Angada 4
Kingston, Ontario, K7L 2V7
Tel: 613 549-6666 x3339
Fax: 613 548-1351
Email: dkh2@post.queensu.ca
PRESS RELEASE
IMMEDIATE RELEASE / RELEASE DATE
Improving nutrition therapy for the critically-ill:
An international quality improvement project
City, State, and Date
Health practitioners in the intensive care unit (ICU) at hospital name are hoping to improve the
quality of care received by their critically ill patients by participating in an international survey of
nutrition therapies in ICUs.
The prevalence of malnutrition is high in ICUs and has a negative impact on clinical outcomes.
Providing patients with the right nutrition improves would healing, boosts the immune system,
and helps the gastrointestinal tract work more effectively, which together favourably influences
the chance of surviving critical illness.
The Canadian Clinical Practice Guidelines for Nutrition Support in Mechanically Ventilated
Critically Ill Patients published in 2003, provided guidance to ICU practitioners on how best to
feed their patients. Previous Canadian surveys of nutrition therapy, however, have shown that
considerable variability exists in how nutrition therapies are delivered in practice. These
observations spurred Dr Daren Heyland, Director of the Clinical Evaluation Research Unit at
Kingston General Hospital in Kingston Ontario, Canada to conduct an international survey to
define actual practice, highlight strengths and weaknesses, and identify opportunities for
improvement.
Over 250 ICUs from 20 different countries (including Canada, United States, United Kingdom,
Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, Brazil, and Chile) are participating in the survey. On Jan.
25, 2007 dietitians, researchers, physicians, ICU practitioners at hospital name will start to
collect data on the clinical condition, nutritional status, nutrition received, and outcomes of 20
critically ill patients. Data will be entered online over a period of three months using a webbased data collection tool.
At the end of the study, hospital name ICU will receive a benchmarked performance report,
highlighting their strengths and weaknesses in comparison to other ICUs throughout the world,
and to the Canadian guidelines. This report will be of significant value, illuminating opportunities
for improvement, informing future educational initiatives, and hopefully translating into improved
clinical outcomes for our critically ill patients.
Further Information: www.criticalcarenutrition.com
Contact:
Naomi Jones
Project Leader
Clinical Evaluation Research Unit
Kingston General Hospital
Tel # (613) 549-6666 ext 2812
Fax # (613) 548-1351
email: jonesn@kgh.kari.net
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