Malnourished Patients Requiring Artificial Nutritional Support
Conditions
Keywords
malnutrition, nutritional support, enteral nutrition, parenteral nutrition
Brief summary
To evaluate the prevalence of hospitalized patients who receive artificial nutrition, the type of patients who resort to artificial nutrition, the appropriateness of the latter in terms of specificity with respect to the clinical condition, and the adequacy of the caloric-protein intake provided to the patient.
Detailed description
Despite detailed recommendations provided by international scientific societies, numerous studies highlight substantial variability and deficiencies in clinical practice, notably delays in initiating artificial nutrition (AN), inadequate caloric and protein dosing, and disparities in treatment across patient groups. Unfortunately, applying the general recommendations to nutritional therapy for polymorbid patients is particularly challenging for healthcare providers without specific nutrition training, as disease-specific quantitative and qualitative nutritional requirements must be considered. In this report, we present results obtained from data collected on hospitalized patients undergoing AN across 35 medical and surgical wards and the intensive care unit of a university hospital in Southern Italy. In all these cases, the decisions regarding the type (enteral/parenteral) and the intensity (calories/proteins) of the nutritional interventions observed were made by the physicians working on the wards. This study describes the application of AN in real-world hospital settings, identifying the main critical issues and suggesting possible interventions to improve clinical practice.
Interventions
None listed
Sponsors
University of Bari
Study design
Observational model
CASE_CROSSOVER
Time perspective
CROSS_SECTIONAL
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Hospitalized patients receiving artificial nutrition -
Exclusion criteria
Patients on normal oral feeding. \-
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Prevalence of patients receiving artificial nutrition during their hospitalization. | Baseline evaluation was performed for all patients on the same day, which corresponded to a variable time from the beginning of hospitalization. | Among the 578 hospitalized patients, 56 (9.7%; 30 males, 26 females), with a mean age of 67.1 ± 11.6 years, were receiving artificial nutrition (AN). The modalities of AN administration were as follows: total parenteral nutrition (TPN) in 39 patients, enteral nutrition (EN) in 16 patients, and EN plus supplemental parenteral nutrition (SPN) in 1 patient. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Evaluation of the total amount of calories received | Baseline evaluation was performed for all patients on the same day, which corresponded to a variable time from the beginning of hospitalization. | The total caloric intake received by each patient was calculated based on the characteristics of nutritional parenteral and enteral products and the duration of their infusion. The appropriateness of the caloric intake was calculated using the most accurate prediction formula suggested for a specific body mass index (BMI) range. |
Countries
Italy
Contacts
STUDY_CHAIRMichele Barone
University of Bari
Outcome results
None listed