Addressing malnutrition in hospitalized adults.

Established guidelines and standardized protocols exist to assist clinicians in effectively addressing disease-related malnutrition in hospitalized adults. The goals of this treatment vary according to the disease state and the severity of the malnutrition. In starvation-related malnutrition, the goal of nutrition therapy is to restore healthy levels of lean body mass and body fat. For chronic disease-related malnutrition, the goals of treatment are to maintain and improve lean body mass and body fat. In acute-disease-related malnutrition, the goals of nutrition therapy are to support vital organ function and preserve the host response through the acute episode. The success of addressing malnutrition in hospitalized patients depends not just on the nutrition therapy selected, but also on the timely and appropriate application of guidelines and protocols by the clinicians dedicated to caring for malnourished patients. Coordination of nutrition care among providers is highly desirable, and usually includes a multidisciplinary team of clinicians typically comprising a physician, nurse, dietitian, and pharmacist. For greatest success, this attention to recognizing and addressing malnutrition begins at admission and continues beyond discharge to the community. When addressing malnutrition in hospitalized patients, oral feeding through diet enrichment or oral nutrition supplementation (ONS) is the first line of defense. ONS has consistently been demonstrated to provide nutrition, clinical, functional, and economic benefits to malnourished patients in both individual trials and meta-analyses. In an era when the cost of healthcare is rising as the population ages, addressing malnutrition in hospitalized patients is an important priority.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics/the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition consensus malnutrition characteristics: application in practice.

Malnutrition in adult hospitalized patients has been a significant issue for almost 40 years. Changes in 2007 to the diagnosis related groups reimbursement methodology, as outlined by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, provided an impetus to improve the diagnosis and documentation of malnutrition in adult patients. Being able to accurately assess, diagnose, and document malnutrition has been challenged by the lack of a standard malnutrition definition. In 2012 a workgroup of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition published a consensus paper outlining characteristics for the diagnosis of adult hospital malnutrition. Using the etiology approach for defining malnutrition as outlined by Jensen and colleagues, 6 general characteristics are outlined with specific thresholds to delineate severe and nonsevere malnutrition. The purpose of this article is to provide practical strategies for criteria implementation and to describe one institution's experience in implementing a broad-based "malnutrition program" within its healthcare system.

Small bowel feeding tube placement using an electromagnetic tube placement device: accuracy of tip location.

BACKGROUND: An electromagnetic tube placement device (ETPD) monitors tip position of feeding tubes (FT) during placement in the digestive tract. It helps to avoid airway misplacement and permits positioning into the small bowel (SB). This study compares the overall agreement between FT tip location as determined by an ETPD vs an abdominal radiograph of the kidneys, ureter, and bladder (KUB). METHODS: Using an ETPD, A nurse placed postpyloric FTs in ICU patients. We included all patients in whom the ETPD was used for FT placement. Data were prospectively recorded for 255 days on the rate of successful postpyloric placement, ETPD estimated tip location, and KUB location. RESULTS: 860 tubes were placed in 616 patients, 719 (83.6%) of which recorded for ETPD and KUB. According to the KUB, 81% of tubes were in the SB; however, ETPD suggested 89% were beyond the pylorus. There was moderate agreement beyond what could be attributed to chance between KUB and ETPD tip locations (475 [66.1%], κ score 0.62 [95% confidence interval 0.58-0.67]). More tubes by KUB were distal (134[18.6%]) vs proximal (110[15.3%]) to the suspected location by ETPD (P < .0001. Tubes in or distal to the second half of the duodenum, according to ETPD were rarely in the stomach (<1%). No tubes were proximal to the stomach or placed into the airway. CONCLUSIONS: The strong agreement between KUB and ETPD, when tubes were believed to be in the second part of the duodenum or beyond, suggests that KUB is necessary only when the FT tip is suspected to be in the proximal duodenum.

Hypocaloric home parenteral nutrition and nutrition parameters in patients following bariatric surgery.

BACKGROUND: Surgical intervention is considered an acceptable treatment for morbid obesity. Complications following bariatric surgery procedures (BSPs) may necessitate home parenteral nutrition (HPN). No studies have been published on patients receiving HPN following BSP complications. The study aim was to determine if hypocaloric HPN has an effect on body mass index (BMI), albumin, and HPN complications. METHODS: A historic cohort of patients was identified from a clinical database. Obese patients (BMI ≥35 kg/m(2)) who underwent BSP and received HPN for an anastomotic leak/fistula or bowel obstruction were included. Comparisons for start and end of therapy were made for calorie and protein intake, BMI, white blood cell count, and serum albumin level. Readmissions and metabolic and infectious complications were recorded. Obese patients received hypocaloric feeds to promote weight loss and protein for wound healing. RESULTS: Twenty-three patients were included for an average study length of 1.5 months. Patients received an average of 1.2 g of protein and a median of 13.6 kcal per kg actual body weight (ABW) per day. BMI decreased by 7.1% ± 5.2%, from a median of 39.8 to 37.1, and serum albumin increased by 12.5%, from 2.8 ± 0.5 to 3.2 ± 0.6 g/dL. Readmissions occurred in 52.2% of patients with 40.0% of complications related to HPN. CONCLUSIONS: Hypocaloric HPN is efficacious in maintaining adequate nutrition while allowing for weight loss in morbidly obese patients following complications of bariatric surgery. Frequency of HPN complications was comparable to those reported in the literature.

Use of home parenteral nutrition in patients with intra-abdominal desmoid tumors.

BACKGROUND: Fistulae, small bowel obstruction (SBO), and malabsorption are complications of intra-abdominal desmoid (IAD) tumors that require home parenteral nutrition (HPN). HPN outcomes in patients with IAD tumors have not been previously reported. The aim of this study was to compare some of the nutrition parameters and complications of HPN in patients with IAD with a control group of patients on HPN. METHODS: This was a case-control study of patients and randomly selected controls who required HPN because of fistulae, SBO, or malabsorption and were managed by the Cleveland Clinic Nutrition Support Team between 1990 and 2008. Variables included demographics, indications, number of episodes, duration of HPN, number of admissions and complications related to HPN, and nutrition parameters. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used. RESULTS: Eighteen of 1615 HPN patients (1.1%) had IAD. For the study, 58 patients were included: 14 with IAD and 44 controls. Four IAD patients did not have complete medical records. IAD patients had longer duration of HPN (P = .015), were younger (P = .028), and were more likely to receive HPN for malabsorption (P < .001). Body mass index (BMI), serum albumin level, protein intake provided at the beginning of HPN, energy intake provided at the start and end of HPN, mortality, and complications were comparable between groups. At the end of HPN, IAD patients received significantly more protein and had lower serum albumin levels compared with controls. CONCLUSIONS: HPN for IAD patients maintained BMI but did not increase serum albumin concentration despite receiving more protein than controls. IAD patients did not have increased HPN-related complications.

Metabolic bone disease and parenteral nutrition.

Metabolic bone disease (MBD) is abnormal bone metabolism and includes the common disorders of osteoporosis and osteomalacia, which can develop in patients receiving long-term parenteral nutrition (PN). Patients who require long-term PN have significant gastrointestinal failure and malabsorption, which is generally caused by severe inflammatory bowel disease, intestinal ischemia, or malignancy. The exact cause of MBD in long-term PN patients is unknown, but its origin is thought to be multifactorial, with factors including underlying disease, effect of medications used to treat this disease (eg, corticosteroids), and various components of the PN solution. Caring for patients on long-term PN requires routine assessment and monitoring for MBD. Appropriate adjustments of the PN solution can help reduce the risk for developing PN-associated MBD and in some instances improve bone mineral density. Recent developments in pharmacologic treatment for osteoporosis show promise for patients with MBD receiving PN.