Editors: Ainsley Malone, MS, RD, CNSC, FAND, FASPEN; Liesje Nieman Carney, RD, CSP, LDN; Amy Long Carrera, MS, RD, CNSC, CWCMS; Andrew Mays, PharmD, BCNSP, CNSC
Publisher and Year: American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, 2019
Print ISBN: 978-1-889622-39-2
eBook ISBN: 978-1-889622-40-8
Price: $84.95 (print, spiral-bound paperback)
$79.95 (eBook)

For all those clinicians who have read practice guidelines and thought, “Just tell me what to do!” the second edition of the ASPEN Enteral Nutrition Handbook answers those questions. The book is not quite a pocket guide, not quite a textbook, and not quite a set of guidelines, but instead spans the gap between all three. Clearly written for healthcare providers currently engaged in enteral nutrition (EN), this book provides practical advice without delving too deeply into background explanations or a review of literature. Generally, throughout the book, the assumption is made that the reader knows a significant amount about nutrition and needs only the nuts and bolts of how to properly deliver EN to patients, so it may be less helpful to a student or new practitioner who has no background nutrition knowledge.

Following the mission of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN), the Enteral Nutrition Handbook is not expressly written for a single profession but instead includes information that would be of interest and utility for pharmacists, physicians, dietitians, and nurses. This text is written, reviewed, and edited mostly by current practitioners in a variety of settings across the country; for a practicing clinician, reading it feels like consulting an experienced colleague on how to implement the ASPEN guidelines. Research findings are integrated into the text, but limited to a sentence or less to keep the focus on practice recommendations. For the readers who want more explanation, many chapters end with practice resources and suggested readings in addition to the extensive references.

The second edition includes chapters on nutrition assessment; patient selection for EN; access devices; formulas for both adults and pediatrics; EN orders; preparation, labeling, and dispensing EN (new to this edition); administration and monitoring; complications; medication administration; and home EN. Each chapter covers both pediatric and adult nutrition issues and includes plentiful and helpful tables and figures for reference. While pocket-sized, this book is likely not a text that a practitioner really would carry around in a pocket during patient care, but instead is an excellent reference for clinicians who want useful advice to improve their practice.

Leah Hoffman, PhD, RD/LD, CNSC,
Assistant Professor, Director, Coordinated Program for Master of Arts in Dietetics
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Oklahoma City, Oklahoma