Nutrition is an important aspect of care for any patient entering the hospital, but the patient admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) is at an even higher risk for nutritional compromise. Nutrition affects all ages, from the neonate to the geriatric patient, and all patient populations. Evidence-based practice guidelines regarding appropriate nutritional support within the critical care setting are published. Yet, researchers continue to identify that despite published evidence, countless ICU patients continue to lack adequate and timely nutritional support on admission. Each of the authors in this issue promotes nutrition in their careers and individual practice areas, which brings knowledge from many different arenas throughout the nation. This issue discusses nutrition throughout the lifespan, special patient populations, implementation of guidelines, and how nutrition is being utilized as medical therapy.

This issue of Critical Care Nursing Clinics, Guest Edited by Debora Simmons, RN, MSN, CCRN, CCNS, will feature such article topics as: Cause Mapping Critical Events; Blood Bank Safety in the ICU; Patient Safety in Perinatal Care; High Risk Drugs in Critical Areas; Enteral Feeding Tubing Misconnections; Safe Practices for Enteral Nutrition; Negotiating Safety; Device Complexity and Human Factors; Decreasing Risk; Delirium in ICU; and Voice of the Patient.

This issue of Endocrinology Clinics brings the reader up to date on the important advances in research surrounding acute diabetic complications. Guest edited by Leonid Poretsky and Eliana Liao, the topics covered include retinopathy, neuropathy, gastrointestinal complications, diabetic foot, dental complications, dermatologic complications, and more.

This issue of "Critical Care Clinics," guest edited by Paul Wischmeyer, MD features topics such as: Nutrition Guidelines In Critical Care - Consistency or Confusion; Evolutionary Role of Nutrition and Metabolic Support in Critical Illness; Pre-operative Surgical Nutrition Programs; Fish Oil in Critical Illness - Mechanisms and Clinical Application; Glutamine in Critical Illness - The Time Has Come, The Time Is Now; Immunosupression and Infection After Major Surgery - A Nutritional Deficiency; and, Enteral Nutrition in Critical Care - Why Do We Starve Our Patients.

Gastrointestinal dysfunction or injury is common in the critical care patient either as a primary diagnosis or as secondary symptoms. Several studies confirm that up to 62% of critical care patients exhibit at least one GI symptom for at least one day. In addition, recent studies have shown that GI problems are related to negative outcomes in the critical care patient. The articles in this issue are current and relevant to critical care patients today: Autoimmune Disease of the Gut in the Critical Care Patient; Nutrition Options in CCU Patients; Mesenteric Ischemia; Management of C-Diff in Critical Care Setting; Management of Acute GI Bleed; Acute Diverticulitis Management; GI Patient Skills Training in the ICU: SOFA assessment and recognizing GI symptoms; EBP with probiotics in treatment for antibiotic associated diarrhea in the ICU; GI Problems in the ICU with Patients with HIV/AIDs; Complications of GI Motility/GI Failure in the Critically Ill Patient; Untreated Gastroesophageal Reflux Patients in the ICU; Liver Transplant; Ecoli Complications in Critical Care-Pediatrics; and GI Traumatic injuries: GI Perforation. Being knowledgeable and skillful in the recognition and care for these problems is paramount to the critical care nurse.