Energy: The
capacity to do work
Energy
Production:
defined in terms
of standard
Energy
units
produced per time, or
Oxygen Consumed per time, as
oxygen
is required for
Energy
production.
Energy
Consumptions: Energy used/time (e.g. Kcal/hr or ml O2
/min.)
Kilocalorie –
standard measure of the quantity of
Energy
obtained from nutrients (often referred to as a Calorie)
(e.g. One gram Carbohydrate produces 3.3 Kcal)
Calorie:
term used interchangeably with Kcal.
Energy
Production:
term used to quantify the amount of energy generated over time.
Since 95% of the oxygen used is for energy production, oxygen
consumed can also be used as a measure of energy as can the
Kilocalorie (Calorie).
Energy
Consumed:
quantifies the energy used. Energy consumed, in the form of oxygen
used or Calories burned is used to determine the patients nutrient
requirements.
Metabolism:
Sum (body) total of all chemical reactions required for cell
function – an energy requiring process.
Hyper-metabolism:
increase in metabolic rate above normal for a specific activity
level.
Anabolism:
Constructive Metabolism: protein synthesis and new tissue formation.
Catabolism:
Destructive Metabolism: protein breakdown producing tissue
degradation.
Protein-Energy
Malnutrition (PEM) is defined by inadequate intake of energy
and protein is the most common form of malnutrition in the
acutely injured, chronically ill or incapacitated respiratory
dysfunction populations.
The initial
symptoms of fatigue (cell energy crisis) are followed by progressive
weight loss including fat but predominantly lean mass.
Unintentional
Weight Loss6-10
Loss of 10% of actual body weight over a 6 month period or greater than
5% over 30 days is usually considered to be the definition for
weight loss producing a significant health risk.
Because
unintentional weight loss is often an associated factor in
malnutrition, as well as injured or ill patients, and is easy to
monitor. The degree of weight loss is used as a marker of the
degree of malnutrition. Weight loss itself is used as a medical
quality assurance marker for adequacy of nutrition in patient
populations at risk. The degree of morbidity including poor wound
healing and development of ongoing respiratory disease increases as
the degree of weight loss increases. |
