Nutritional and Metabolic Support in Critical Illness: Mechanisms, Monitoring, and Clinical Outcomes
A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Clinical Nutrition".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 September 2026 | Viewed by 1657
Special Issue Editors
Interests: pathophysiology; neurocritical care; neurological complications in critical illness; diabetes mellitus; glucose metabolism; metabolic diseases; stress hyperglycemia; inflammation and metabolic dysfunction; critical care medicine; clinical nutrition; metabolic monitoring; neuroinflammation
Interests: critical care medicine; sepsis and septic shock; acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS); healthcare-associated infections (HAIs); artificial nutrition in critically ill patients
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Critical illness is characterized by dynamic and heterogeneous metabolic phenotypes involving hypercatabolism, insulin resistance, mitochondrial dysfunction, systemic inflammation, and accelerated skeletal muscle degradation. Acute sarcopenia and ICU-acquired weakness are increasingly recognized as central determinants of short- and long-term outcomes, including prolonged mechanical ventilation, infection risk, functional decline, and mortality. However, current nutritional strategies often rely on standardized protocols rather than individualized metabolic profiling.
Major unresolved questions include the identification of metabolic phenotypes that predict differential responses to nutritional interventions; the role of indirect calorimetry, nitrogen balance assessment, and muscle imaging (CT, ultrasound) in guiding therapy; optimal protein dosing to attenuate muscle loss; and the integration of biomarkers such as CRP, glucose variability, inflammatory cytokines, and markers of muscle turnover into clinical decision-making. The timing of parenteral nutrition, the modulation of energy delivery, immunonutrition strategies, and targeted micronutrient supplementation remain areas of ongoing debate.
This Special Issue will advance precise metabolic support in critically ill adults by integrating mechanistic insights with clinical outcomes. We welcome randomized clinical trials, observational studies, translational research, and systematic reviews focusing on metabolic monitoring, sarcopenia assessment, personalized protein–energy strategies, and long-term functional recovery.
By bridging metabolic phenotyping with outcome-driven nutrition therapy, this Special Issue will redefine individualized nutritional care in intensive care medicine.
Dr. Adina Stoian
Dr. Mircea Stoian
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- critical care nutrition
- nutrition support
- precision metabolic support
- sarcopenia in critical illness
- neuromuscular dysfunction
- metabolic monitoring
- muscle mass and functional recovery
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