The Forgotten Phase: Nutrition in the Post ICU Patient

Transitions of care from the intensive care unit (ICU) are high-risk periods for interruptions in nutrition therapy and inadequate nutrient delivery, which may impair recovery following critical illness. As patients leave the ICU, changes in metabolic demand, functional status, feeding tolerance, and discharge setting necessitate deliberate reassessment and coordinated nutrition planning. This narrative review outlines practical strategies to optimize nutrition support during ICU transitions, including reassessment of nutrition status, reevaluation of energy and protein needs, selection of appropriate feeding routes and schedules, and early integration of nutrition into transition of care and discharge planning. We present four patient cases to illustrate application of these strategies across diverse clinical scenarios and discharge destinations including a lung transplant recipient, a patient in a medical ICU, a patient in a neuro ICU, and a patient in a trauma ICU. Collectively, these cases demonstrate that proactive reassessment, timely adjustment of feeding regimens, and early discharge planning can reduce avoidable interruptions in nutrition therapy and support continuity of care across ICU transitions.