Also called: Artificial feeding · Artificial hydration and nutrition · Hyperalimentation · Parenteral nutrition · TPN · Tube feeding
Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Nutritional Support
Nutritional support is therapy for people who cannot get enough nourishment by eating or drinking. You may need it if you :
- Can't swallow
- Have problems with your appetite
- Are severely malnourished
- Can't absorb nutrients through your digestive system
You receive nutritional support through a needle or catheter placed in your vein or with a feeding tube, which goes into your stomach.
It sits within Food and Nutrition.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Nutritional Support
1,268 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Caregiving Networks Across Disease Context and the Life CourseNational Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)
- Specimen and Data Collection in South Carolina Medicaid-Enrolled Patients With Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) and Metabolically Healthy ControlsGuardian Research Network, Inc.
- Weight Loss Clinical Decision SupportHealthPartners Institute
- SALUD-M: Acceptance Based Coping Skills for Hispanic/Latinx Military Patients With Type 2 DiabetesBaylor College of Medicine
- A Dietitian-Driven Unified Nutritional Care Model (ADDUCE)Gødstrup Hospital
- Modulated Mid-frequency Whole-body Electromyostimulation and Nutritional Therapy in Gastrointestinal Cancer PatientsUniversity of Cologne
Research already completed
- Inherited Diseases, Caregiving, and Social NetworksNational Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)
- Support Through Remote Observation and Nutrition Guidance (STRONG) Program for Gastroesophageal Cancer (GEC) PatientsH. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute
- Predicting Weight Gain and Weight Loss Associated With Overeating or FastingNational Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Artificial Hydration and NutritionAmerican Academy of Family Physicians
- What Is Nutrition Support Therapy?American Society for Parenteral & Enteral Nutrition
Related Issues
- Central Venous CatheterAmerican Thoracic Society
- Tube Feeding Troubleshooting GuideOley Foundation
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Nutritional SupportNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Parenteral NutritionNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Nutritional Support. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Nutritional Support, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.