Efficacy and Safety of Administration of High Levels of Protein to Critically Ill Patients.

Critically ill patients are known to develop serious nutritional deterioration during the course of their disease. They develop, from the beginning, a multifactorial protein malnutrition that relates to a poor clinical course and the development of weakness. Due to the increased protein catabolism in this type of patient, there is a rapid degradation of muscle mass and loss of functional proteins, and therefore nutritional support is mandatory. Indeed, achieving a high protein intake may promote a better evolution of the critically ill patient, i.e., maintenance of muscle protein, less deterioration of muscle strength, lower Intensive care unit-acquired weakness (ICUAW), lower mortality, decrease in the number of infections, decrease in days on mechanical ventilation, and days of hospital stay and in ICU. The goal of this clinical trial is to compare the appearance and degree of ICUAW in critically ill patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation treated with two different doses of protein (1.5 g/kg/day vs.1.0 g/kg/day).