Parenteral nutrition (PN) represents one of the most notable achievements of modern medicine, serving as a therapeutic modality for all age groups across the healthcare continuum. PN offers a life-sustaining option when intestinal failure prevents adequate oral or enteral nutrition. However, providing nutrients by vein is an expensive form of nutrition support, and serious adverse events can occur. In an effort to provide clinical guidance regarding PN therapy, the Board of Directors of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) convened a task force to develop consensus recommendations regarding appropriate PN use. The recommendations contained in this document aim to delineate appropriate PN use and promote clinical benefits while minimizing the risks associated with the therapy. These consensus recommendations build on previous ASPEN clinical guidelines and consensus recommendations for PN safety. They are intended to guide evidence-based decisions regarding appropriate PN use for organizations and individual professionals, including physicians, nurses, dietitians, pharmacists, and other clinicians involved in providing PN. They not only support decisions related to initiating and managing PN but also serve as a guide for developing quality monitoring tools for PN and for identifying areas for further research. Finally, the recommendations contained within the document are also designed to inform decisions made by additional stakeholders, such as policy makers and third-party payers, by providing current perspectives regarding the use of PN in a variety of healthcare settings. (JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2017;41:324-377) The etiology-based nutrition diagnoses in adults in clinical practice settings are as follows: Starvation-related malnutrition: Chronic starvation without inflammation (eg, anorexia nervosa). Chronic disease-related malnutrition: Inflammation is chronicand of mild to moderate degree (eg, organ failure, pancreatic cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, sarcopenic obesity). Acute disease or injury-related malnutrition:Inflammation is acute and of severe degree (eg, major infection burns, trauma, closed head injury). 2,3Malnutrition, pediatric: An imbalance between nutrient requirement and intake, resulting in cumulative deficits of energy, protein, or micronutrients that may negatively affect growth, development, and other relevant outcomes. It is recommended that growth charts based on a standard deviation z score system be used to track and assess nutrition status in children. 4,5Nutritionally-at-risk: Consider the individual nutritionally-atrisk if any of the following is present. Nutritionally-At-Risk Adult Summary of RecommendationsThese consensus recommendations are designed to identify best practices, guide day-to-day clinical decisions, reduce variations in practice, and enhance patient safety. They are not intended to supersede the judgment of the healthcare professional based on the circumstances of the individual patient.

Parenteral nutrition (PN) is a high-alert medication with a complex drug use process. Key steps in the process include the review of each PN prescription followed by the preparation of the formulation. The preparation step includes compounding the PN or activating a standardized commercially available PN product. The verification and review, as well as preparation of this complex therapy, require competency that may be determined by using a standardized process for pharmacists and for pharmacy technicians involved with PN. An American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) standardized model for PN order review and PN preparation competencies is proposed based on a competency framework, the ASPEN-published interdisciplinary core competencies, safe practice recommendations, and clinical guidelines, and is intended for institutions and agencies to use with their staff.

The American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (A.S.P.E.N.) is a professional society of physicians, nurses, dietitians, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, other allied health professionals, and researchers. A.S.P.E.N. envisions an environment in which every patient receives safe, efficacious, and high-quality nutrition care. A.S.P.E.N.'s mission is to improve patient care by advancing the science and practice of clinical nutrition and metabolism. These combined Standards for Nutrition Support: Home Care and Alternate Site Care are an update of the 2005 and 2006 standards.

No abstract

of their professional time to nutrition support activities. These activities may include direct patient care, research relevant to nutrition support therapy, teaching, and administrative responsibilities. These standards are not intended for the pharmacist who occasionally provides nutrition support to patients, but rather to those who by virtue of education, training, experience, and personal interest wish to be identified as an NSP and provide expertise in collaboration with other healthcare professionals. 2. Level of Care: These Standards of Practice represent a range of competencies that should be provided by any NSP within or outside the context of a formal nutrition support service or team. The application of standards in any individual case should be determined by the best judgment of the NSP, as well as their position and practice environment. The Standards are presented in the most generic terms possible. Details of patient care are left to the discretion of the individual NSP, healthcare professionals, and nutrition support services or teams. The Standards aim to provide a basis for sound and efficient nutrition care for patients in all healthcare settings in need of nutrition support therapy. Terminology to be included in each standard are specified as: a. "Shall": indicates standards to be followed strictly. b. "Should": indicates that among several possibilities one is particularly suitable, without mentioning or excluding others, or that a certain course of action is preferred but not necessarily required. c. "May": indicates a course of action which is permissible within the limits of recommended practice.

No abstract

Introduction: Errors have been reported in the literature to occur at each step of the parenteral nutrition (PN) use process, necessitating standardized processes, clinician competence, and open communication for those involved. This study was performed at Central Admixture Pharmacy Services (CAPS®) in collaboration with the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) with the purpose to study the need for and success of PN pharmacist interventions. Methods: A survey was developed and sent to all CAPS customers for study enrollment and to identify their demographic and practice characteristics. For those enrolled, CAPS pharmacists reviewed every PN order in a 1-month period using an error/intervention tool to capture data on prescription elements requiring intervention, along with acceptance of that intervention. Results: Two hundred thirty-two unique CAPS customers (23% response rate) participated in the study, representing 37,634 unique PN prescriptions. Two hundred forty-eight PN prescriptions (0.66%) from 59 customers required ≥1 intervention. The top 3 intervention types were electrolyte dose clarification, calcium/phosphorus incompatibility, and amino acid dose clarification. A greater number and percentage of interventions were required for neonatal prescriptions, as compared with adult and pediatric prescriptions. No significant difference was found in many of the other customer characteristics. Conclusion: This study supports the need for institutions to develop systems to comply with published PN safety recommendations, including knowledgeable and skilled pharmacists to complete the order review and verification steps for this high-alert medication.

Nutrition support is a pharmacy specialty in which pharmacists work with prescribers, conduct order review, and either perform or oversee compounding of these complex parenteral nutrition formulations. Pharmacists should be certified in this specialty, and the options for certification are outlined in this article.