The necessity of an aseptic environment for the preparation of enteral feeding solutions in iranian hospitals

Abstract

Dear Editor, Enteral feeding (EF) was first introduced in the early twentieth century and is nowadays one of the most common nutritional supportive measures for hospital‑admitted patients who are unable to eat orally, but their digestive system still can digest and absorb food. In general, EF nutrition solutions are prepared either by commercial formulas or by manually mixing the necessary nutrients. One of the most critical concerns regarding EF solutions is the possibility of microbial contamination that can occur due to high nutrient richness and risk factors that exist for microbial contamination in all stages of preparation, storage, and consumption of these solutions. On the other hand, reports show that microbial contamination of EF solutions can slow down the recovery process of patients, decrease solutions expected nutritional value, and create dangerous conditions for patients, such as pneumonia, sepsis, and nosocomial infections. Accordingly, standards are developed to evaluate the microbial load of EF solutions, and the US Food and Drug Administration standards are the most valid of them.