Handheld computers, or personal digital assistants (PDAs), have been used to assist clinicians in medical nutrition since the early 1980s. The term PDA was originally applied to programmable calculators; over time, the capabilities of these devices were expanded to allow for the use of more complicated programs such as databases, spreadsheets, and electronic books. Slowly, the device evolved into what is more commonly thought of as a PDA, that is, a device such as a PalmOS (PalmSource, Inc, Tokyo, Japan) or PocketPC (Microsoft, Redmond, WA) unit. We present a review of the literature about the use of PDAs in medical nutrition, followed by a discussion of the different types of PDAs and mobile technologies that are commercially available. This is followed by a discussion of software applications that are currently available for use by nutrition clinicians, focusing on freeware applications. Finally, future technologies and applications are discussed.

Professionals with the CNSC credential scored significantly higher on a complex case-based knowledge assessment of guideline recommendations for the nutrition support treatment of pancreatitis compared with those without a credential.

Background: This study compared an intermittent feeding regimen (one‐sixth of daily needs infused every 4 hours) with a continuous (drip) feeding regimen for critically ill trauma patients. There were two outcome variables: time to reach goal volume and the days on 100% of caloric needs via an enteral route in the first 10 days of the intensive care unit stay. Adverse events were also tallied. Methods: A prospective randomized trial was conducted in the trauma intensive care unit in a university Level I trauma center. A total of 164 trauma patients, 18 years of age and older were admitted to the trauma intensive care unit with a noninjured gastrointestinal tract and required more than 48 hours of mechanical ventilation. Patients were randomized to receive enteral nutrition via an intermittent feeding regimen versus a continuous feeding regimen. A single nutritionist calculated caloric and protein goals. A strict protocol was followed where hourly enteral intake, interruptions and their causes, diarrhea, and pneumonia were recorded, as well as standard guidelines for intolerance. Results: A total of 164 patients were randomized and 139 reached their calculated nutritional goal within 7 days. There were no statistical differences in complications of tube feeding. The patients intermittently fed reached the goal faster and by day 7 had a higher probability of being at goal than did the patients fed continuously (χ= 6.01, p= 0.01). Intermittent patients maintained 100% of goal for 4 of 10 days per patient (95% CI = 3.5–4.4) as compared with the drip arm goal for only 3 of 10 days per patient (95% CI = 2.7–3.6). Conclusions: Patients from both the intermittent and continuous feeding regimens reached the goal during the study period of 7 days but the intermittent regimen patients reached goal enteral calories earlier. The intermittent gastric regimen is logistically simple and has equivalent outcomes to a standard dripfeeding regimen.