Jennifer Ann Li Sim

Supervisors	Dr Adam Deane & Prof Michael Horowitz
Year	2011
Mark	Honours 1st Class

Presentations

• Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Intensive Care Annual Scientific Meeting 2011, Oral Presentation, Best Medical Paper Session
• Society of Critical Care Medicine 41st Critical Care Congress 2012, Poster Presentation

Publications

Description

I am a medical student at the University of Adelaide. In 2011, I completed Honours in the Discipline of Acute Care Medicine. I was based in the Intensive Care Unit at the Royal Adelaide Hospital where I was able to contribute to their research into feeding difficulties in the critically ill.

Inadequate nutrition is a significant cause of increased morbidity and mortality in the critically ill. Despite current therapies to increase nutrient delivery, such as prokinetic drugs and post pyloric catheters, patients are still unable to reach caloric targets. My study explored a possible mechanism of nutrient malabsorption, attenuation of blood flow to the absorptive surface of the small intestine, and found a relationship between superior mesenteric artery blood flow and glucose absorption. I was trained to measure superior mesenteric artery blood flow using Doppler ultrasound by a world leader in the field Professor Tryvge Hausken, from the University of Bergen of Norway. This is a novel study in the field of critical care and an important step in improving treatment of ICU patients.

Society of Critical Care Medicine Meeting, Houston 2011