@article {Townsend:1997-06:0952-3871:193,
	author = "Townsend, Sara and Palmer, Diane and MacFie, John",
	title = "Inadequate oral intake in surgical patients: a rational indication for nutritional support",
	journal = "Journal of Human Nutrition & Dietetics",
	volume = "10",
	number = "3",
	year = "1997-06",
	abstract = "Seven days or more of inadequate oral intake (IOI) inevitably results in a deterioration in nutritional status. Despite this well-known fact, little information is available as to the frequency with which such periods of IOI occur in clinical practice. This study results from an audit of IOI in a gastroenterological unit over a 6-month period. The results demonstrate that 17% of patients sustained significant periods of IOI of 7 days or longer. This has important implications with regard to the provision of adjuvant nutritional support.",
	pages = "193-195",
	url = "http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bsc/jhnd/1997/00000010/00000003/art00005",
	doi = "doi:10.1046/j.1365-277X.1997.00053.x",
	keyword = "malnutrition, nutritional support, oral intake"
}