Refeeding syndrome: treatment considerations based on collective analysis of literature case reports.

Refeeding syndrome (RFS) represents a group of clinical findings that occur in severely malnourished individuals undergoing nutritional support. Cardiac arrhythmias, multisystem organ dysfunction, and death are the most severe symptoms observed. As the cachectic body attempts to reverse its adaptation to the starved state in response to the nutritional load, symptoms result from fluid and electrolyte imbalances, with hypophosphatemia playing a central role.