If a delirious pt is suitable for iv fluid would he normally also be suitable for iv nutritional support? obviously delirious pts can pull out tubes.

Not necessary: Delerium is a new-onset behavioral change due to a specific cause like infection, head injury, drugs and so on. Usually the cause is identified and treated in a timely manner. Therefore, a person in normal nutritional status prior to the delerium can manage for those few days on IV fluids without special nutrition supplementation. Hope that helps.

Recommend Caution:: Suitable does not equate with either appropriate or effective. IV fluids easily/commonly overdone resulting in edema, sometimes deadly water overload. The important issues are the individual's life, mental status & motivations before becoming delirious, the reasons for being delirious along with what difference: beneficial, irrelevant or deleterious, the particular IV fluid/contents given produce.