Tuberculosis and malnutrition: The European perspective.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading infectious cause of death worldwide, despite ongoing efforts to limit its incidence and mortality. Although the European Region has made gains in TB incidence and mortality, it now contends with increasing numbers of multidrug- and rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (MDR/RR-TB). Malnutrition is a major contributor to the burden of TB and may also be directly caused or enhanced by the onset of TB. The presence of malnutrition may worsen TB and MDR/RR-TB related treatment outcomes and contribute to growing TB drug-resistance. Preventing and treating all forms of malnutrition is an important tool to limit the spread of TB worldwide and improve TB outcomes and treatment efficacy. We carried out a scoping review of the existing evidence that addresses malnutrition in the context of TB. Our review found malnutrition increased the risk of developing TB in high-burden settings and increased the likelihood of developing unfavorable treatment outcomes, including treatment failure, loss to follow-up, and death. The potential impact of nutritional care and improved nutritional status on patient prognosis was more difficult to evaluate due to heterogeneity of patient populations, treatment protocols, and treatment durations and goals. High-quality trials that consider malnutrition as a major risk factor and relevant treatment target when designing effective strategies to limit TB spread and mortality are needed to inform evidence-based practice. In TB patients, we suggest that widespread and regular nutritional screening, assessment, and counselling, has the potential to increase effectiveness of TB management strategies and improve patient quality of life, overall outcomes, and survival.

Keyword-augmented and semi-automatic generation of FESS reports: a proof-of-concept study.

INTRODUCTION: Surgical reports are usually written after a procedure and must often be reproduced from memory. Thus, this is an error-prone, and time-consuming task which increases the workload of physicians. In this proof-of-concept study, we developed and evaluated a software tool using Artificial Intelligence (AI) for semi-automatic intraoperative generation of surgical reports for functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A vocabulary of keywords for developing a neural language model was created. With an encoder-decoder-architecture, artificially coherent sentence structures, as they would be expected in general operation reports, were generated. A first set of 48 conventional operation reports were used for model training. After training, the reports were generated again and compared to those before training. Established metrics were used to measure optimization of the model objectively. A cohort of 16 physicians corrected and evaluated three randomly selected, generated reports in four categories: "quality of the generated operation reports," "time-saving," "clinical benefits" and "comparison with the conventional reports." The corrections of the generated reports were counted and categorized. RESULTS: Objective parameters showed improvement in performance after training the language model (p < 0.001). 27.78% estimated a timesaving of 1-15 and 61.11% of 16-30 min per day. 66.66% claimed to see a clinical benefit and 61.11% a relevant workload reduction. Similarity in content between generated and conventional reports was seen by 33.33%, similarity in form by 27.78%. 66.67% would use this tool in the future. An average of 23.25 ± 12.5 corrections was needed for a subjectively appropriate surgery report. CONCLUSION: The results indicate existing limitations of applying deep learning to text generation of operation reports and show a high acceptance by the physicians. By taking over this time-consuming task, the tool could reduce workload, optimize clinical workflows and improve the quality of patient care. Further training of the language model is needed.

Nutrition education in medical schools (NEMS) project: Joining ESPEN and university point of view.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Nutrition education is not well represented in the medical curriculum. The aim of this original paper was to describe the Nutrition Education in Medical Schools (NEMS) Project of the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN). METHODS: On 19 January 2020, a meeting was held on this topic that was attended by 51 delegates (27 council members) from 34 countries, and 13 European University representatives. RESULTS: This article includes the contents of the meeting that concluded with the signing of the Manifesto for the Implementation of Nutrition Education in the Undergraduate Medical Curriculum. CONCLUSION: The meeting represented a significant step forward, moved towards implementation of nutrition education in medical education in general and in clinical practice in particular, in compliance with the aims of the ESPEN Nutrition Education Study Group (NESG).

Depression, anxiety, fatigue, and quality of life in a large sample of patients suffering from head and neck cancer in comparison with the general population.

BACKGROUND: Treatment of head and neck cancer (HNC) often leads to visible and severe functional impairments. In addition, patients often suffer from a variety of psychosocial problems, significantly associated with a decreased quality of life. We aimed to compare depression, anxiety, fatigue and quality of life (QoL) between HNC patients and a large sample of the general population in Germany and to examine the impact of sociodemographic, behavioral and clinical factors on these symptoms. METHODS: We assessed data of HNC patients during the aftercare consultation at the Leipzig University Medical Center with a patient reported outcome (PRO) tool named "OncoFunction". Depression, anxiety, fatigue and QoL were assessed using validated outcome measures including the PHQ-9, the GAD-2, and the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 817 HNC patients were included in our study and compared to a sample of 5018 individuals of the general German population. HNC patients showed significantly higher levels of impairment in all dimensions assessed. Examination of association between depression, anxiety, fatigue and QoL and clinical as well as sociodemographic variables showed significant relationships between occupational status, ECOG-state, body mass index and time since diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: HNC patients suffer significantly from psychological distress. The used questionnaires are suitable for the use in daily routine practice and can be helpful to increase the detection of depression, anxiety and fatigue and therefore can improve HNC aftercare.

Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM): Guidance on validation of the operational criteria for the diagnosis of protein-energy malnutrition in adults.

BACKGROUND: The Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) created a consensus-based framework consisting of phenotypic and etiologic criteria to record the occurrence of malnutrition in adults. This is a minimum set of practicable indicators for use in characterizing a patient/client as malnourished, considering the global variations in screening and nutrition assessment, and to be used across different health care settings. As with other consensus-based frameworks for diagnosing disease states, these operational criteria require validation and reliability testing as they are currently based solely on expert opinion. METHODS: Several forms of validation and reliability are reviewed in the context of GLIM, providing guidance on how to conduct retrospective and prospective studies for criterion and construct validity. FINDINGS: There are some aspects of GLIM criteria which require refinement; research using large data bases can be employed to reach this goal. Machine learning is also introduced as a potential method to support identification of the best cut-points and combinations of operational criteria for use with the different forms of malnutrition, which the GLIM criteria were created to denote. It is noted as well that the validation and reliability testing need to occur in a variety of sectors, populations and with diverse persons completing the criteria. CONCLUSION: The guidance presented supports the conduct and publication of quality validation and reliability studies for GLIM.

GLIM criteria for the diagnosis of malnutrition - A consensus report from the global clinical nutrition community.

RATIONALE: This initiative is focused on building a global consensus around core diagnostic criteria for malnutrition in adults in clinical settings. METHODS: In January 2016, the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) was convened by several of the major global clinical nutrition societies. GLIM appointed a core leadership committee and a supporting working group with representatives bringing additional global diversity and expertise. Empirical consensus was reached through a series of face-to-face meetings, telephone conferences, and e-mail communications. RESULTS: A two-step approach for the malnutrition diagnosis was selected, i.e., first screening to identify "at risk" status by the use of any validated screening tool, and second, assessment for diagnosis and grading the severity of malnutrition. The malnutrition criteria for consideration were retrieved from existing approaches for screening and assessment. Potential criteria were subjected to a ballot among the GLIM core and supporting working group members. The top five ranked criteria included three phenotypic criteria (weight loss, low body mass index, and reduced muscle mass) and two etiologic criteria (reduced food intake or assimilation, and inflammation or disease burden). To diagnose malnutrition at least one phenotypic criterion and one etiologic criterion should be present. Phenotypic metrics for grading severity as Stage 1 (moderate) and Stage 2 (severe) malnutrition are proposed. It is recommended that the etiologic criteria be used to guide intervention and anticipated outcomes. The recommended approach supports classification of malnutrition into four etiology-related diagnosis categories. CONCLUSION: A consensus scheme for diagnosing malnutrition in adults in clinical settings on a global scale is proposed. Next steps are to secure further collaboration and endorsements from leading nutrition professional societies, to identify overlaps with syndromes like cachexia and sarcopenia, and to promote dissemination, validation studies, and feedback. The diagnostic construct should be re-considered every 3-5 years.

GLIM criteria for the diagnosis of malnutrition - A consensus report from the global clinical nutrition community.

RATIONALE: This initiative is focused on building a global consensus around core diagnostic criteria for malnutrition in adults in clinical settings. METHODS: In January 2016, the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) was convened by several of the major global clinical nutrition societies. GLIM appointed a core leadership committee and a supporting working group with representatives bringing additional global diversity and expertise. Empirical consensus was reached through a series of face-to-face meetings, telephone conferences, and e-mail communications. RESULTS: A two-step approach for the malnutrition diagnosis was selected, i.e., first screening to identify "at risk" status by the use of any validated screening tool, and second, assessment for diagnosis and grading the severity of malnutrition. The malnutrition criteria for consideration were retrieved from existing approaches for screening and assessment. Potential criteria were subjected to a ballot among the GLIM core and supporting working group members. The top five ranked criteria included three phenotypic criteria (non-volitional weight loss, low body mass index, and reduced muscle mass) and two etiologic criteria (reduced food intake or assimilation, and inflammation or disease burden). To diagnose malnutrition at least one phenotypic criterion and one etiologic criterion should be present. Phenotypic metrics for grading severity as Stage 1 (moderate) and Stage 2 (severe) malnutrition are proposed. It is recommended that the etiologic criteria be used to guide intervention and anticipated outcomes. The recommended approach supports classification of malnutrition into four etiology-related diagnosis categories. CONCLUSION: A consensus scheme for diagnosing malnutrition in adults in clinical settings on a global scale is proposed. Next steps are to secure further collaboration and endorsements from leading nutrition professional societies, to identify overlaps with syndromes like cachexia and sarcopenia, and to promote dissemination, validation studies, and feedback. The diagnostic construct should be re-considered every 3-5 years.

ESPEN expert group recommendations for action against cancer-related malnutrition.

Patients with cancer are at particularly high risk for malnutrition because both the disease and its treatments threaten their nutritional status. Yet cancer-related nutritional risk is sometimes overlooked or under-treated by clinicians, patients, and their families. The European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) recently published evidence-based guidelines for nutritional care in patients with cancer. In further support of these guidelines, an ESPEN oncology expert group met for a Cancer and Nutrition Workshop in Berlin on October 24 and 25, 2016. The group examined the causes and consequences of cancer-related malnutrition, reviewed treatment approaches currently available, and built the rationale and impetus for clinicians involved with care of patients with cancer to take actions that facilitate nutrition support in practice. The content of this position paper is based on presentations and discussions at the Berlin meeting. The expert group emphasized 3 key steps to update nutritional care for people with cancer: (1) screen all patients with cancer for nutritional risk early in the course of their care, regardless of body mass index and weight history; (2) expand nutrition-related assessment practices to include measures of anorexia, body composition, inflammatory biomarkers, resting energy expenditure, and physical function; (3) use multimodal nutritional interventions with individualized plans, including care focused on increasing nutritional intake, lessening inflammation and hypermetabolic stress, and increasing physical activity.

ESPEN guidelines on definitions and terminology of clinical nutrition.

BACKGROUND: A lack of agreement on definitions and terminology used for nutrition-related concepts and procedures limits the development of clinical nutrition practice and research. OBJECTIVE: This initiative aimed to reach a consensus for terminology for core nutritional concepts and procedures. METHODS: The European Society of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) appointed a consensus group of clinical scientists to perform a modified Delphi process that encompassed e-mail communication, face-to-face meetings, in-group ballots and an electronic ESPEN membership Delphi round. RESULTS: Five key areas related to clinical nutrition were identified: concepts; procedures; organisation; delivery; and products. One core concept of clinical nutrition is malnutrition/undernutrition, which includes disease-related malnutrition (DRM) with (eq. cachexia) and without inflammation, and malnutrition/undernutrition without disease, e.g. hunger-related malnutrition. Over-nutrition (overweight and obesity) is another core concept. Sarcopenia and frailty were agreed to be separate conditions often associated with malnutrition. Examples of nutritional procedures identified include screening for subjects at nutritional risk followed by a complete nutritional assessment. Hospital and care facility catering are the basic organizational forms for providing nutrition. Oral nutritional supplementation is the preferred way of nutrition therapy but if inadequate then other forms of medical nutrition therapy, i.e. enteral tube feeding and parenteral (intravenous) nutrition, becomes the major way of nutrient delivery. CONCLUSION: An agreement of basic nutritional terminology to be used in clinical practice, research, and the ESPEN guideline developments has been established. This terminology consensus may help to support future global consensus efforts and updates of classification systems such as the International Classification of Disease (ICD). The continuous growth of knowledge in all areas addressed in this statement will provide the foundation for future revisions.

Increased intestinal permeability in malnourished patients with liver cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Malnutrition is a prominent feature in liver cirrhosis, with deleterious impact on clinical outcome. The objective of this study is to investigate whether malnutrition is associated with increased gastrointestinal permeability in liver cirrhosis reflected by altered urinary excretion of non-metabolizable sugar probes. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Patients with advanced liver cirrhosis (Child Pugh Score B or C) were recruited. Nutritional status was determined according to the Subjective Global Assessment. Intestinal permeability was assessed by measuring the urinary excretion of orally administered, non-metabolized sugar probe molecules. The lactulose/mannitol ratio served as marker for intestinal permeability and reflects non-carrier-mediated transcellular and paracellular transport of the small intestine during the first 5 h. Sucrose recovery in urine within the first 5 h reflects gastroduodenal permeability; sucralose recovery in urine 5-26 h after consumption reflects colonic permeability. RESULTS: Sixty-four patients (56.7±10.8 years; 33% female) were included in the study. Twenty-one patients were considered well nourished according to the Subjective Global Assessment, 23 moderately nourished and 20 patients severely malnourished; 74% had alcoholic liver disease and 67% had cirrhosis stage Child C. Gastroduodenal and colonic permeability was significantly increased in patients with liver cirrhosis compared with 63 healthy controls (0.23±0.22 and 1.37±1.42% vs 0.14±0.10 and 0.41±0.72% in controls), but not different between well and malnourished subjects. Small intestinal permeability (lactulose/mannitol ratio) was increased in all patients (0.069±0.055%) and further increased in malnourished patients (0.048±0.031% vs 0.084±0.061%, P=0.004) due to decreased mannitol recovery only. CONCLUSIONS: Gastric, small intestinal and even colonic permeability was altogether increased in liver cirrhosis, and malnutrition was associated with further increased small intestinal permeability indicative of villous atrophy.

Cost-effectiveness of a 3-month intervention with oral nutritional supplements in disease-related malnutrition: a randomised controlled pilot study.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Nutritional intervention with oral nutritional supplements (ONS) has been shown to increase quality of life in malnourished patients. We investigated whether post-hospital supplementation with ONS is cost-effective according to international benchmarks in malnourished patients. SUBJECTS/METHODS: In total, 114 malnourished patients (50.6±16.1 years, 57 female) with benign gastrointestinal disease were included and randomised to receive either ONS for 3 months and dietary counselling at discharge (intervention, n=60) or only dietary counselling at discharge (control group, n=54). Nutritional status was assessed with Subjective Global Assessment. Intervention patients documented daily intake of ONS; quality of life was assessed with Short-Form (SF)-36 Health Survey and SF-36 values were transformed into health-status utilities. Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were calculated by adopting the area under the curve method. We used two different pricing scenarios for ONS (minimum price: [euro]2.30 and maximum: [euro]2.93/tetrapack). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of supplementation with ONS was calculated for both price scenarios. All analyses were corrected for age and gender. RESULTS: Intervention patients consumed 2.4±0.8 ONS per day. Intervention and control patients did not differ in their health status utilities at baseline (0.594±0.017 vs 0.619±0.018), but after 3 months, the health status utilities were significantly higher in intervention patients than in control patients (0.731±0.015 vs 0.671±0.016, P=0.028). Intervention was associated with significantly higher costs (ICER: [euro]9497 and [euro]12,099/additional QALY, respectively) but deemed cost-effective according to international thresholds (< [euro]50,000/QALY). CONCLUSIONS: A 3-month intervention with ONS increases quality of life in malnourished patients. This treatment appears to be cost-effective according to international benchmarks.

[Protein catabolism and malnutrition in liver cirrhosis - impact of oral nutritional therapy]. / Proteinkatabolie und Mangelernährung bei Leberzirrhose - Möglichkeiten der oralen Ernährungstherapie.

Malnutrition with loss of muscle is common in patients with liver cirrhosis and has negative impact on morbidity and mortality. The aetiology of malnutrition is multifactorial and includes inflammation, early onset of gluconeogenesis due to impaired glycogen storage and sometimes hypermetabolism. Reduced nutritional intake, however, plays the most important role in the pathogenesis of malnutrition. There is, however, ample evidence that nutritional intake and therapy are inadequate in liver cirrhosis although studies have clearly shown that dietary counselling and nutritional therapy with oral supplements improve intake in these patients. Protein requirement is considered to be increased in liver cirrhosis and high protein intake has been shown to be well tolerated and associated with an improvement of liver function and nutritional status. Protein intolerance on the other hand is uncommon and hepatic encephalopathy can thus rarely be attributed to high protein consumption. Recommendations for general protein restriction must therefore be considered obsolete and rather a risk factor for an impaired clinical outcome. Furthermore, the administration of late evening meals is highly beneficial in patients with liver disease since the rapid onset of the overnight catabolic state is counteracted. The serum concentration of branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) is decreased in patients with liver cirrhosis and long-term supplementation of BCAA has been shown to improve nutritional status and prolong event-free survival and quality of life.

Bioimpedance-based identification of malnutrition using fuzzy logic.

Protein-energy malnutrition reduces the quality of life, lengthens the time in hospital and dramatically increases mortality. Currently there is no simple and objective method available for assessing nutritional status and identifying malnutrition. The aim of this work is to develop a novel assistance system that supports the physician in the assessment of the nutritional status. Therefore, three subject groups were investigated: the first group consisted of 688 healthy subjects. Two additional groups consisted of 707 patients: 94 patients with primary diseases that are known to cause malnutrition, and 613 patients from a hospital admission screening. In all subjects bioimpedance spectroscopy measurements were performed, and the body composition was calculated. Additionally, in all patients the nutritional status was assessed by the subjective global assessment score. These data are used for the development and validation of the assistance system. The basic idea of the system is that nutritional status is reflected by body composition. Hence, features of the nutritional status, based on the body composition, are determined and compared with reference ranges, derived from healthy subjects' data. The differences are evaluated by a fuzzy logic system or a decision tree in order to identify malnourished patients. The novel assistance system allows the identification of malnourished patients, and it can be applied for screening and monitoring of the nutritional status of hospital patients.