الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Burn injury is the most severe type of trauma known. It results in many pathophysiological changes. These changes almost affect all body systems. One of the most important effects of these changes is the postburn hypermetabolic state. It begins shortly after burn injury and persists till complete burn wound closure. This hypermetabolic state results also in marked decrease in the lean body mass, especially skeletal muscles and marked weight loss and if it affects the respiratory muscles, occurrence of respiratory failure is eminent. If this hypermetabolic state is not corrected early and promptly, serious complications might occur. During the recovery phase of major burn, providing early and adequate amounts of calories and proteins is considered a major cornerstone in the burn management. Early enteral nutrition has been demonstrated to minimize the catabolic loss, enhance the immunological response, decrease the incidence of infection and prolong the survival. In our study, forty major burned patients (35% TBSA) with age ranged from 16 to 40 years were divided into two groups; each group was consisted of 20 patients. The caloric intake was based on Curreri formula. Group A (early enteral nutrition group) was fed early within 24 hours of burn through nasogastric tube. For group B (delayed enteral nutrition group) tube feeding was withheld for about 72 hours postburn. There was significant weight loss, low level of serum albumen and increase incidence of infection in delayed enteral nutrition group compared with early enteral nutrition one. So the effect of early and adequate enteral feeding was obviously noted during the recovery phase of burned patients in order to meet their hypermetabolic state and reduce the incidences of wound infection and burn sepsis. Conclusion: We can state that, wound infection, burn sepsis, weight loss, mortality, hypoalbuminemia and health care costs can be significantly decreased in the recovery period after major burn injuries using early enteral nutrition.