Dynamic assessment of prealbumin for nutrition support effectiveness in critically ill patients.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Serum prealbumin is considered to be a sensitive predictor of clinical outcomes and a quality marker for nutrition support. However, its susceptibility to inflammation restricts its usage in critically ill patients according to current guidelines. We assessed the performance of the initial value of prealbumin and dynamic changes for predicting the ICU mortality and the effectiveness of nutrition support in critically ill patients. METHODS: This monocentric study included patients admitted to the ICU between 2009 and 2016, having at least one initial prealbumin value available. Prospectively recorded data were extracted from the electronic ICU charts. We used both univariable and multivariable logistic regressions to estimate the performance of prealbumin for the prediction of ICU mortality. Additionally, the association between prealbumin dynamic changes and nutrition support was assessed via a multivariable linear mixed-effects model and multivariable linear regression. Performing subgroup analysis assisted in identifying patients for whom prealbumin dynamic assessment holds specific relevance. RESULTS: We included 3136 patients with a total of 4942 prealbumin levels available. Both prealbumin measured at ICU admission (adjusted odds-ratio (aOR) 0.04, confidence interval (CI) 95% 0.01-0.23) and its change over the first week (aOR 0.02, CI 95 0.00-0.19) were negatively associated with ICU mortality. Throughout the entire ICU stay, prealbumin dynamic changes were associated with both cumulative energy (estimate: 33.2, standard error (SE) 0.001, p < 0.01) and protein intakes (1.39, SE 0.001, p < 0.01). During the first week of stay, prealbumin change was independently associated with mean energy (6.03e-04, SE 2.32e-04, p < 0.01) and protein intakes (1.97e-02, SE 5.91e-03, p < 0.01). Notably, the association between prealbumin and energy intake was strongest among older or malnourished patients, those suffering from increased inflammation and those with high disease severity. Finally, prealbumin changes were associated with a positive mean nitrogen balance at day 7 only in patients with SOFA <4 (p = 0.047). CONCLUSION: Prealbumin measured at ICU admission and its change during the first-week serve as an accurate predictor of ICU mortality. Prealbumin dynamic assessment may be a reliable tool to estimate the effectiveness of nutrition support in the ICU, especially among high-risk patients.

Estimates of resting energy expenditure using predictive equations in adults with severe burns: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Many equations to estimate the resting energy expenditure (REE) of patients with burns are currently available, but which of them provides the best guide to optimize nutrition support is controversial. This review examined the bias and precision of commonly used equations in patients with severe burns. METHODS: A systematic search of the PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases was undertaken on June 1, 2023, to identify studies comparing predicted REE (using equations) with measured REE (by indirect calorimetry [IC]) in adults with severe burns. Meta-analyses of bias and calculations of precisions were performed in each predictive equation, respectively. RESULTS: Nine eligible studies and 12 eligible equations were included. Among the equations, the Toronto equation had the lowest bias (26.1 kcal/day; 95% CI, -417.0 to 469.2), followed by the Harris-Benedict equation × 1.5 (1.5HB) and the Milner equation. The Ireton-Jones equation (303.4 kcal/day; 95% CI, 224.5-382.3) acceptably overestimated the REE. The accuracy of all of the equations was <50%. The Ireton-Jones equation had the relatively highest precision (41.2%), followed by the 1.5HB equation (37.0%) and the Toronto equation (34.7%). CONCLUSION: For adult patients with severe burns, all of the commonly used equations for the prediction of REE are inaccurate. It is recommended to use IC for accurate REE measurements and to use the Toronto equation, 1.5HB equation, or Ireton-Jones equation as a reference when IC is not available. Further studies are needed to propose more accurate REE predictive models.

A Proposed Predictive Equation for Energy Expenditure Estimation Among Noncritically Ill Patients With Acute Kidney Injury.

OBJECTIVE: The incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) is identified more frequently in noncritical compared with intensive care settings. The prognosis of malnourished AKI patients is far worse than those with normal nutritional status. However, a method for estimating the optimal amount of energy required to guide nutritional support among noncritically ill AKI patients is yet to be determined. METHODS: We evaluated the performance of weight-based formulas (20-30 kcal/kg/day) with the reference values of energy expenditure (EE) measured by indirect calorimetry (IC) among noncritically ill AKI patients during hospitalization. The statistics for assessing agreement, including total deviation index and accuracy within 10% represent the percentage of estimations falling within the IC value range of ±10%, were tested. Parameters for predicting the EE equation were also developed using a regression analysis model. RESULTS: A total of 40 noncritically ill AKI patients were recruited. The mean age of participants was 62.5 ± 16.5 years with 50% being male. The average IC-derived EE was 1,124.6 ± 278.9 kcal/day with respiratory quotients 0.8-1.3, indicating good validity of the IC test. Receiving dialysis, protein catabolic rate, and age was not significantly associated with measured EE. Nearly all weight-based formulas overestimated measured EE. The magnitude of total deviation index values was broad with the proportion of patients achieving an accuracy of 10% being as low as 20%. The proposed equation to predict EE derived from this study was EE (kcal/day) = 618.27 + (8.98 x weight in kg) + 137.0 if diabetes - 199.7 if female (r2 = 0.68, P < .001). In the validation study with an independent group of noncritically ill AKI patients, predicted EE using the newly derived equation was also significantly correlated with measured EE by IC (r = 0.69, P = .004). CONCLUSION: Estimation of EE by weight-based formulas usually overestimated measured EE among noncritically ill AKI patients. In the absence of IC, the proposed predictive equation, specifically for noncritically ill AKI patients might be useful, in addition to weight-based formulas, for guiding caloric dosing in clinical practice.

[Clinical practice guidelines for nutritional assessment and monitoring of adult ICU patients in China].

The Chinese Society of Critical Care Medicine (CSCCM) has developed the clinical practice guidelines of nutrition assessment and monitoring for patients in adult intensive care unit (ICU) of China. This guideline focuses on nutrition assessment and metabolic monitoring to achieve the optimal and individualized nutrition therapy for critical ill patients. This guideline was made by experts in critical care medicine and evidence-based medicine methodology and was developed after a thorough system review and summary of relevant trials or studies published from 2000 to July 2023. A total of 18 recommendations were formed and consensus was reached through discussions and review by expert groups in critical care medicine, parenteral and enteral nutrition, and surgery. The recommendations are based on the currently available evidence and cover several key fields, including nutrition risk screening and assessment, evaluation and assessment of enteral feeding intolerance, metabolic and nutritional measurement and monitoring during nutrition therapy, and organ function evaluation related to nutrition supply. Each question was analyzed according to the PICO principle. In addition, interpretations were provided for four questions that did not reach a consensus but may have potential clinical and research value. The plan is to update this nutrition assessment and monitoring guideline using the international guideline update method within 3 to 5 years.

Unmet needs in cancer patients: Creating recommendations to overcome geographical disparities in economic growth.

Cancer is a major clinical, economic and societal challenge across different world regions. Effective anticancer therapies are now available, yet the impact of these treatments on the needs of patients with cancer remains questionable, since improved survival is not frequently associated with improved quality of life. In an effort to raise patients' needs at the core of anticancer therapies, the importance of nutritional support has become recognized by international scientific societies. It is recognized that the needs of patients with cancer are universal, yet the economic and societal status of any country influence the availability and implementation of nutritional care. The Middle East is a geographic area in which major differences in economic growth coexist. Consequently, it appears reasonable that international guidelines on nutritional care in oncology are reviewed to highlight those recommendations which could be universally adopted and those which may need a progressive implementation. To this end, a group of Middle East healthcare professionals working in cancer centers across the region gathered to develop a list of recommendations to be implemented in daily practice. This would translate in a likely better acceptance and delivery of nutritional care, aligning all Middle East cancer centers to the quality standards now available only in selected hospital across the region.

[Malnutrition in internal medicine : Screening, assessment and importance]. / Mangelernährung in der Inneren Medizin : Screening, Assessment und Bedeutung.

Disease-related malnutrition has a strong influence on the further course of the disease and mortality, especially in chronically ill patients. In recent years it could be shown in large randomized studies that an individual nutrition therapy could significantly and relevantly improve the clinical outcome of patients in internal medicine with a risk of malnutrition, both in hospital and in aftercare. Therefore, due to the increasing proportion of multimorbid patients the significance of malnutrition and its treatment is becoming increasingly more important in the practice and in research. Nutritional medicine should nowadays be considered as an effective and integral component of a holistic treatment in internal medicine; however, further research is necessary in order to investigate new nutritional biomarkers and for a better integration of an evidence-based personalized nutritional medicine into routine clinical practice.

Multidisciplinary Assessment and Individualized Nutritional Management of Dysphagia in Older Outpatients.

INTRODUCTION: The evidence on the efficacy of nutrition therapy to prevent complications of dysphagia is based on observational studies that used different tools for nutritional and dysphagia assessment, and different scales for the definition of diet textures, rendering their results incomparable and the knowledge on dysphagia management inconclusive. METHODS: This retrospective observational study was performed in 267 older outpatients who were assessed for dysphagia and nutritional status by a multidisciplinary team at the Clinical Nutrition Unit of IRCCS INRCA geriatric research hospital (Ancona, Italy) from 2018 to 2021. GUSS test and ASHA-NOMS measurement systems were used for dysphagia assessment, GLIM criteria for the assessment of nutritional status, and the IDDSI framework to describe the texture-modified diets. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the characteristics of the subjects evaluated. Sociodemographic, functional and clinical parameters were compared between patients with and without BMI improvement overtime by an unpaired Student's t test, Mann-Whitney U test or Chi square test, as appropriate. RESULTS: Dysphagia was diagnosed in more than 96.0% of subjects; 22.1% (n = 59) of dysphagic subjects were also malnourished. Dysphagia was treated exclusively by nutrition therapy, prevalently by individualized texture-modified diets (77.4%). For the classification of diet texture, the IDDSI framework was used. The follow-up visit was attended by 63.7% (n = 102) of subjects. Aspiration pneumonia was registered only in one patient (less than 1%), and BMI improved in 13 of 19 malnourished subjects (68.4%). The improvement of nutritional status was primarily reached in subjects whose energy intake was increased and texture of solids modified, in younger subjects, and in those taking less drugs and not reporting any weight loss before the first assessment. CONCLUSIONS: The nutritional management of dysphagia must guarantee both an adequate consistency and energy-protein intake. Evaluations and outcomes should be described with universal scales, in order to allow for comparison between studies and contribute to the collection of a critical mass of evidence on the efficacy of texture-modified diets in the management of dysphagia and its complications.

[XIII Lección Jesús Culebras. Hospital pharmacists and nutritional support. From the beginning to the present day (1976- 2018)]. / XIII Lección Jesús Culebras. Los farmacéuticos de hospital y el soporte nutricional. De los inicios hasta nuestros días (1976-2018).

Introduction: Hospital pharmacists have been, since 1970's active members in nutritional support commissions [parenteral nutrition (NP) and enteral nutrition (EN)], in our hospitals, mainly in the context of sterile preparation of NP components. This presentation tries to explain their role in this 42-year journey. Without any doubt, in quality leap, in pharmaceutical quality in PN was the step from the preparation in individual vials to the "all-in-one" admixtures", thereby reducing catheter infections due to less handling. Three events occurred in the 1990´s., First, due to increase of NP preparations, the pharmaceutical industry designed three-chamber bags. Second, studies on hospital malnutrition, were launched after verifying that malnutrition increased surgical and medical complications. Finally, the Order of June 2, 1987 regulated Home Enteral Nutrition (HEN). In the first decade of the new century, the growth of patients who were candidates for PN continued. In the last 10 years, we have intensified our work into patients with short bowel with Home Parenteral Nutrition (HPN), but above all in the control of ileostomies, after suture failure. and we placed order in the drugs that are stable in NP and in "Y" with it. We also started pharmacokinetics studies in the administration of drugs in different surgical situations: bariatric surgery, total gastrectomy... In the future we will continue to ask questions about how we can improve the nutritional support of our patients.

Introducción: Los farmacéuticos de hospitales fueron, desde los inicios en el decenio de los setenta del siglo pasado, miembros activos en las comisiones de soporte nutricional [nutrición parenteral (NP) y nutrición enteral (NE)], en nuestros hospitales, en el contexto principalmente de la preparación estéril de los componentes de NP. Sin duda, un salto de calidad farmacéutica en la NP, fue el paso de la preparación en frascos individuales al "todo en uno", ya que con ello se disminuían infecciones por catéter a causa de la menor manipulación. Ocurren 3 acontecimientos en la década de los noventa del siglo pasado, el primero, frente al alud de preparaciones de NP la industria farmacéutica irrumpe con una preparación de bolsas tricamerales. El segundo, los inicios de estudios de desnutrición hospitalaria, después de comprobar, que la malnutrición incrementaba las complicaciones quirúrgicas y médicas, y por último la Orden de 2 de junio de 1987 para regular la Nutrición Enteral Domiciliaria. En el primer decenio del nuevo siglo continúa el crecimiento de enfermos candidatos a NP. Los últimos 10 años, hemos profundizado en los enfermos con intestino corto con Nutrición Parenteral Domiciliaria, pero sobre todo en el control de las ileostomías, tras fallo de sutura, y pusimos orden en los fármacos que son estables en la NP y en "Y" con la misma. También iniciamos estudios farmacocinéticos en la administración de fármacos en diferentes situaciones quirúrgicas: cirugía bariátrica, gastrectomía total… El futuro será continuando haciéndose preguntas sobre cómo podemos mejorar el soporte nutricional de nuestros pacientes.

Pediatric perioperative nutritional assessment and support.

Perioperative nutritional support reduces the healthcare burden of pediatric malnutrition and its risk. Strategic preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic nutritional management guidelines are now available for their optimization. The global needs for pediatric surgery are vast, amounting to millions of children and adolescents, with a corresponding workforce requirement, especially in less socioeconomically developed regions, and where malnutrition is endemic. Acute and elective surgery from neonate to adolescent, for congenital to infective, neoplastic and traumatic conditions, are involved. To identify, highlight and critique current perioperative pediatric nutrition guidelines with regard to availability, utility, affordability and accuracy. Advantages and limitations of nutritional methodologies are taken into account in an algorithmic approach to perioperative decision-making to optimise outcomes. Routine documentation, monitoring and surveillance of pediatric nutritional status as a contributor to surgical risk management should increase its benefits, and reduce costs.

[Effect of sedation on resting energy expenditure in patients with extremely severe burns and the choice of energy estimation formula].

Objective: To investigate the effect of sedation on resting energy expenditure (REE) in patients with extremely severe burns and the choice of REE estimation formula during the treatment. Methods: A retrospective non-randomized controlled clinical study was conducted. From April 2020 to April 2022, 21 patients with extremely severe burns who met the inclusion criteria and underwent mechanical ventilation treatment were admitted to the Department of Burn and Wound Repair of Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, including 16 males and 5 females, aged 60 (50, 69) years. Early anti-shock therapy, debridement, skin transplantation, nutritional support, and other conventional treatments were applied to all patients. Patients were sedated when they had obvious agitation or a tendency to extubate, which might lead to aggravation of the disease. REE measurement was performed on patients using indirect calorimetry on post-injury day 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 14 and every 7 days thereafter until the patient died or being successfully weaned from ventilator. Totally 99 times of measurements were carried out, of which 58 times were measured in the sedated state of patients, and 41 times were measured in the non-sedated state of patients. The age, weight, body surface area, residual wound area, post-injury days of patients were recorded on the day when REE was measured (hereinafter briefly referred to as the measurement day). The REE on the measurement day was calculated with intensive care unit conventional REE estimation formula Thumb formula and special REE estimation formulas for burns including the Third Military Medical University formula, the Peng Xi team's linear formula, Hangang formula. The differences between the sedated state and the non-sedated state in the clinical materials, measured and formula calculated values of REE of patients on the measurement day were compared by Mann-Whitney U test and independent sample t test. The differences between the REE formula calculated values and the REE measured value (reflecting the overall consistency) in the sedated state were compared by Wilcoxon signed rank-sum test. The Bland-Altman method was used to assess the individual consistency between the REE formula calculated value and the REE measured value in the sedated state, and to calculate the proportion of the REE formula calculated value within the range of ±10% of the REE measured value (hereinafter referred to as the accuracy rate). Root mean square error (RMSE) was used to evaluate the accuracy of the REE formula calculated value relative to the REE measured value. Results: Compared with those in the non-sedated state, there was no statistically significant change in patient's age or post-injury days on the measurement day in the sedated state (P>0.05), but the weight was heavier (Z=-3.58, P<0.01), and both the body surface area and the residual wound area were larger (with Z values of -2.99 and -4.52, respectively, P<0.01). Between the sedated state and the non-sedated state, the REE measured values of patients were similar (P>0.05). Compared with those in the non-sedated state, the REE values of patients calculated by Thumb formula, the Third Military Medical University formula, the Peng Xi team's linear formula, and Hangang formula on the measurement day in the sedated state were significantly increased (with Z values of -3.58 and -5.70, t values of -3.58 and -2.74, respectively, P<0.01). In the sedated state, compared with the REE measured value, there were statistically significant changes in REE values of patients calculated by Thumb formula, the Third Military Medical University formula, and Hangang formula on the measurement day (with Z values of -2.13, -5.67, and -3.09, respectively, P<0.05 or P<0.01), while the REE value of patients calculated by the Peng Xi team's linear formula on the measurement day did not change significantly(P>0.05). The analysis of the Bland-Altman method showed that in the sedated state, compared with the REE measured value, the individual consistency of the calculated value of each formula was good; Thumb formula and Hangang formula significantly underestimated the patients' REE value (with the average value of the difference between the formula calculated value and the measured value of -1 463 and -1 717 kJ/d, the 95% confidence interval of -2 491 to -434 and -2 744 to -687 kJ/d, respectively), but the individual differences were small; the Third Military Medical University formula significantly overestimated the patients' REE value (with the average value of the difference between the formula calculated value and the measured value of 3 530 kJ/d, the 95% confidence interval of 2 521 to 4 539 kJ/d), but the individual difference was small; the Peng Xi team's linear formula did not significantly overestimate the patients' REE value (with the average value of the difference between the formula calculated value and the measured value of 294 kJ/d, the 95% confidence interval of -907 to 1 496 kJ/d), while the difference standard deviation was 4 568 kJ/d, which showed a large individual difference. In the sedated state, relative to the REE measured value, the accuracy rates of REE values calculated by Thumb formula, the Third Military Medical University formula, the Peng Xi team's linear formula, and Hangang formula were 25.9% (15/58), 15.5% (9/58), 10.3% (6/58), and 15.5% (9/58), respectively, and RMSE values were 4 143.6, 5 189.1, 4 538.6, and 4 239.8 kJ/d, respectively. Conclusions: Sedative therapy leads to a significant decrease in REE in patients with extremely severe burns undergoing mechanical ventilation treatment. When REE cannot be regularly monitored by indirect calorimetry to determine nutritional support regimens, patients with extremely severe burns undergoing sedation may be prioritized to estimate REE using Thumb formula.

Assessment of hospital malnutrition care practices: The case of a low middle income country.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: To improve hospital malnutrition care, assessing actual malnutrition practices and knowledge is essential. Our objectives are to assess malnutrition care practices, evaluate dietitians' malnutrition knowledge, and explore barriers and facilitators to optimal malnutrition care in a LMIC hospitals. METHODS: This is a national cross-sectional study of mixed-method design. Two questionnaires from the Malnutrition Quality Improvement Initiative were used to assess malnutrition care practices and dietitians' malnutrition knowledge. In-depth interviews were used to investigate barriers and facilitators to optimal malnutrition care. RESULTS: Mean average for malnutrition care practices score was 20.96 out of 30 (N = 56). Factors affecting malnutrition practices were: (1) private/public affiliation of the hospital and (2) presence of a documented malnutrition protocol. Dietitians (N = 62) working at academic hospitals scored 57% for malnutrition knowledge which was higher than the score for those working at non-academic hospitals (44%). Gaps in malnutrition knowledge among hospital staff, shortage in hospital staff, and lack of financial coverage for nutrition therapy were the main barriers identified from eight in-depth interviews. CONCLUSION: Efforts should be taken by decision makers to facilitate malnutrition care and increase malnutrition awareness among healthcare professionals.

Home Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.

While the history of nutrition support dates to the ancient world, modern home parenteral and enteral nutrition (HPEN) has been available since the 1960s. Home enteral nutrition is primarily for patients in whom there is a reduction in oral intake below the amount needed to maintain nutrition or hydration (i.e., oral failure), whereas home parenteral nutrition is used for patients when oral-enteral nutrition is temporarily or permanently impossible or absorption insufficient to maintain nutrition or hydration (i.e., intestinal failure). The development of home delivery of these therapies has revolutionized the field of clinical nutrition. The use of HPEN appears to be increasing on a global scale, and because of this, it is important for healthcare providers to understand all that HPEN entails to provide safe, efficacious, and cost-effective support to the HPEN patient. In this article, we provide a comprehensive review of the indications, patient requirements, monitoring, complications, and overall process of managing these therapies at home. Whereas some of the information in this article may be applicable to the pediatric patient, the focus is on the adult population.

Clinical and economic value of oral nutrition supplements in patients with cancer: a position paper from the Survivorship Care and Nutritional Support Working Group of Alliance Against Cancer.

Malnutrition is a common clinical and public health problem that can frequently affect patients in hospital and community settings. In particular, cancer-related malnutrition results from a combination of metabolic dysregulation and anorexia, caused both by the tumor itself and by its treatment. Patients with head-neck cancer, or with gastroesophageal, pancreatic, lung, and colorectal cancer, are particularly at risk of developing malnutrition, with a prevalence varying between 30 and 50% depending on tumor location and anti-cancer treatment complications. Prevention and adequate management of malnutrition is now considered an essential key point of therapeutic pathways of patients with cancer, with the aim to enhance their quality of life, reduce complications, and improve clinical outcomes. Oral nutritional supplements (ONS) are part of the nutritional therapy and represent an effective tool to address cancer-related malnutrition, as supported by growing literature data. However, patients' access to ONS - which is regulated by different national and regional policies in terms of reimbursement - is quite heterogeneous. This narrative review aims to summarize the current knowledge about the role of ONS in terms of cost-effectiveness in the management of actively treated patients with cancer, following surgery and/or radiotherapy/chemotherapy treatment and to present the position on this issue of the Alliance Against Cancer, the Italian National Oncology Network, coming up from a focused virtual roundtable of the Survivorship Care and Nutritional Support Working Group.

Malnutrition Screening and Assessment.

Malnutrition is a serious problem with a negative impact on the quality of life and the evolution of patients, contributing to an increase in morbidity, length of hospital stay, mortality, and health spending. Early identification is fundamental to implement the necessary therapeutic actions, involving adequate nutritional support to prevent or reverse malnutrition. This review presents two complementary methods of fighting malnutrition: nutritional screening and nutritional assessment. Nutritional risk screening is conducted using simple, quick-to-perform tools, and is the first line of action in detecting at-risk patients. It should be implemented systematically and periodically on admission to hospital or residential care, as well as on an outpatient basis for patients with chronic conditions. Once patients with a nutritional risk are detected, they should undergo a more detailed nutritional assessment to identify and quantify the type and degree of malnutrition. This should include health history and clinical examination, dietary history, anthropometric measurements, evaluation of the degree of aggression determined by the disease, functional assessment, and, whenever possible, some method of measuring body composition.

Extracorporeal Life Support Organization Guidelines for the Provision and Assessment of Nutritional Support in the Neonatal and Pediatric ECMO Patient.

DISCLAIMER: This guideline is intended for educational use to build the knowledge of physicians and other health professionals in assessing the conditions and managing the treatment of patients undergoing extracorporeal life support (ECLS)/extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and describe what are believed to be useful and safe practice for extracorporeal life support (ECLS, ECMO) but these are not necessarily consensus recommendations. The aim of clinical guidelines are to help clinicians to make informed decisions about their patients. However, adherence to a guideline does not guarantee a successful outcome. Ultimately, healthcare professionals must make their own treatment decisions about care on a case-by-case basis, after consultation with their patients, using their clinical judgment, knowledge, and expertise. These guidelines do not take the place of physicians' and other health professionals' judgment in diagnosing and treatment of particular patients. These guidelines are not intended to and should not be interpreted as setting a standard of care or be deemed inclusive of all proper methods of care nor exclusive of other methods of care reasonably directed to obtaining the same results. The ultimate judgment must be made by the physician and other health professionals and the patient in light of all the circumstances presented by the individual patient, and the known variability and biologic behavior of the clinical condition. These guidelines reflect the data at the time the guidelines were prepared; the results of subsequent studies or other information may cause revisions to the recommendations in these guidelines to be prudent to reflect new data, but Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) is under no obligation to provide updates. In no event will ELSO be liable for any decision made or action taken in reliance upon the information provided through these guidelines.

Economic Evaluation of Individualized Nutritional Support for Hospitalized Patients with Chronic Heart Failure.

Background Malnutrition is a highly prevalent risk factor in hospitalized patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). A recent randomized trial found lower mortality and improved health outcomes when CHF patients with nutritional risk received individualized nutritional treatment. Objective To estimate the cost-effectiveness of individualized nutritional support in hospitalized patients with CHF. Methods This analysis used data from CHF patients at risk of malnutrition (N = 645) who were part of the Effect of Early Nutritional Therapy on Frailty, Functional Outcomes and Recovery of Undernourished Medical Inpatients Trial (EFFORT). Study patients with CHF were randomized into (i) an intervention group (individualized nutritional support to reach energy, protein, and micronutrient goals) or (ii) a control group (receiving standard hospital food). We used a Markov model with daily cycles (over a 6-month interval) to estimate hospital costs and health outcomes in the comparator groups, thus modeling cost-effectiveness ratios of nutritional interventions. Results With nutritional support, the modeled total additional cost over the 6-month interval was 15,159 Swiss Francs (SF). With an additional 5.77 life days, the overall incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for nutritional support vs. no nutritional support was 2625 SF per life day gained. In terms of complications, patients receiving nutritional support had a cost savings of 6214 SF and an additional 4.11 life days without complications, yielding an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for avoided complications of 1513 SF per life day gained. Conclusions On the basis of a Markov model, this economic analysis found that in-hospital nutritional support for CHF patients increased life expectancy at an acceptable incremental cost-effectiveness ratio.

Prospective validation of five malnutrition screening and assessment instruments among medical inpatients: Secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Screening for malnutrition upon hospital admission is the first crucial step for proper nutritional assessment and treatment. While several nutritional screening and assessment instruments exist, there is a lack of head-to-head validation of these instruments. We studied the ability of five different nutrition screening and assessment instruments to predict 1-year mortality and response to nutritional treatment in participants of the EFFORT randomized trial. METHODS: In this secondary analysis of a Swiss-wide multicenter, randomized clinical trial comparing individualized nutritional support with usual care nutrition in medical inpatients, we prospectively classified patients as low, intermediate, and high nutritional risk based on five nutritional screening and assessment instruments (NRS 2002, SGA, SNAQ, MNA and MUST). RESULTS: Overall mortality at 1-year in the 1866 included patients was 30.4%. There were significant correlations and a significant concordance between all instruments with r-values ranging from 0.23 to 0.55 and kappa values ranging from 0.10 to 0.36. While high nutritional risk was associated with higher mortality in all instruments, SGA and MNA showed the strongest association with adjusted odds ratios of 3.17 (95%CI, 2.18 to 4.61, p < 0.001) and 3.45 (95%CI, 2.28 to 5.22, p < 0.001). When comparing mortality in intervention group patients to control group patients stratified by severity of malnutrition, there was overall no clear trend towards more benefit in patients with more severe malnutrition, with NRS 2002 and SGA showing the most pronounced relationship between the severity of malnutrition and reduction in mortality as a response to nutritional support. CONCLUSION: Among all five screening and assessment instruments, higher nutritional risk was associated with higher risk for mortality and adverse clinical outcome, but not with more or less treatment response from nutritional support with differences among scores. Adding more specific parameters to these instruments is important when using them to decide for or against nutritional support interventions in an individual patient. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02517476.

[Clinical Nutrition for the Medical Patient: From Screening to Diagnosis and Start of Nutritional Therapy]. / Die klinische Ernährung von medizinischen Patientinnen und Patienten: vom Screening zu Assessment und Therapie.

Clinical Nutrition for the Medical Patient: From Screening to Diagnosis and Start of Nutritional Therapy Abstract. With the demographic increase of elderly, multimorbid patients, the number of those with disease-related malnutrition is also steadily increasing. We now know that malnutrition is a strong and independent risk factor for morbidity, mortality, and poor quality of life. Fortunately, however, several studies have shown that malnutrition screening followed by physiological nutritional therapy to meet individual nutritional goals has a positive impact on the clinical course of medical patients. In this context, Nutritional Risk Screening is suitable as a tool for assessing nutritive risk in hospitalized and ambulatory patients in family practice. Patients at risk for malnutrition should undergo an in-depth clinical assessment in an interdisciplinary team of nutritionists, nurses, and physicians to clarify the etiology of malnutrition and risk factors, and to examine the indication for nutritional therapy. Such nutrition therapy should be individually tailored to the patient's nutritional needs (calorie, protein, and micronutrient requirements), the underlying disease and the patient's preferences. Patients should be closely monitored, and the therapy should be adapted during the disease.

A mathematical description for the nutrition therapy ecosystem.

Introduction: Background: nutrition therapy is a complex area of healthcare systems that encompasses patient characteristics, medical decision making, nutritional formula characteristics, and costs, composing a complex ecosystem. The integration of these different domains is actualized in medical prescription in a heuristic and iterative way, taking into account patient characteristics and formulas, with a limited capacity for in-scale calculations and inclusion of factors involved in the prescription of nutritional formulas and other ecosystem elements. From a practical standpoint, depicting the four areas as equalities could provide the necessary equivalence to study dependence and consequence from left- and right-side terms. Objectives: the objective of this theoretical study is to provide a mathematical model that describes and integrates different aspects of nutrition therapy. Methods: in this theoretical study, we deducted a mathematical representation for nutrition therapy using first-grade equations and simple calculus techniques. Results: a formula that coordinates four elements of the nutrition therapy ecosystem was found: cashflow, compliance adherence, patient, and macronutrient mass, formula density and unitary cost. Conclusion: factors involving decision-making in nutrition therapy can be unified in a mathematical model.

Introducción: Antecedentes: la terapia nutricional es un área compleja de los sistemas de salud que abarca las características del paciente, la toma de decisiones médicas, las características de la fórmula nutricional y los costos, componiendo un ecosistema complejo. La integración de estos diferentes dominios se actualiza en la prescripción médica de forma heurística e iterativa, teniendo en cuenta las características y fórmulas del paciente, con una capacidad limitada para cálculos a escala e inclusión de otros factores relacionados con la prescripción de la terapia nutricional y los elementos del ecosistema. Desde un punto de vista práctico, describir las cuatro áreas como igualdades podría proporcionar la equivalencia necesaria para estudiar la dependencia y la consecuencia de los términos del lado izquierdo y derecho. Objetivos: el objetivo de este estudio teórico es brindar un modelo matemático que describa e integre diferentes aspectos de la terapia nutricional. Métodos: en este estudio teórico se dedujo una representación matemática para la terapia nutricional utilizando ecuaciones de primer grado y técnicas de cálculo simple. Resultados: se encontró una fórmula que coordina cuatro elementos del ecosistema de la terapia nutricional: flujo de caja, adherencia al cumplimiento, masa del paciente y macronutrientes, densidad de la fórmula y costo unitario. Conclusión: los factores que involucran la toma de decisiones en la terapia nutricional se pueden unificar en un modelo matemático.