Metabolic Alterations Following Thermal Burns. VII. Effect of Force-Feeding, Methionine, and Testosterone Propionate on Nitrogen Balance in Experimental Burns

Maintenance of metabolism during intensive patient care

“…It seems reasonable to point out that a metabolic response to illness or trauma can hardly be 'physiological' since both illness and trauma are pathological. Furthermore it has been admitted that part of the catabolic response was due to a low calorie diet (Werner, 1948) and could be abolished or considerably diminished by the provision of adequate calories and nitrogen (Meyer et al, 1947;Riegel et al, 1947). The catabolic response to surgery depends on the nutritional state of the patient (Peters, 1957) and the diet before operation (Cuthbertson, 1942) and can therefore be modified by treatment.…”