Barriers and facilitators to screening and treating malnutrition in older adults living in the community: a mixed-methods synthesis.

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition (specifically undernutrition) in older, community-dwelling adults reduces well-being and predisposes to disease. Implementation of screen-and-treat policies could help to systematically detect and treat at-risk and malnourished patients. We aimed to identify barriers and facilitators to implementing malnutrition screen and treat policies in primary/community care, which barriers have been addressed and which facilitators have been successfully incorporated in existing interventions. METHOD: A data-base search was conducted using MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, DARE, CINAHL, Cochrane Central and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews from 2012 to June 2016 to identify relevant qualitative and quantitative literature from primary/community care. Studies were included if participants were older, community-dwelling adults (65+) or healthcare professionals who would screen and treat such patients. Barriers and facilitators were extracted and mapped onto intervention features to determine whether these had addressed barriers. RESULTS: Of a total of 2182 studies identified, 21 were included (6 qualitative, 12 quantitative and 3 mixed; 14 studies targeting patients and 7 targeting healthcare professionals). Facilitators addressing a wide range of barriers were identified, yet few interventions addressed psychosocial barriers to screen-and-treat policies for patients, such as loneliness and reluctance to be screened, or healthcare professionals' reservations about prescribing oral nutritional supplements. CONCLUSION: The studies reviewed identified several barriers and facilitators and addressed some of these in intervention design, although a prominent gap appeared to be psychosocial barriers. No single included study addressed all barriers or made use of all facilitators, although this appears to be possible. Interventions aiming to implement screen-and-treat approaches to malnutrition in primary care should consider barriers that both patients and healthcare professionals may face. REVIEW REGISTRATIONS: PROSPERO: CRD42017071398 . The review protocol was registered retrospectively.

Does hypoxia play a role in the development of sarcopenia in humans? Mechanistic insights from the Caudwell Xtreme Everest Expedition.

OBJECTIVES: Sarcopenia refers to the involuntary loss of skeletal muscle and is a predictor of physical disability/mortality. Its pathogenesis is poorly understood, although roles for altered hypoxic signaling, oxidative stress, adipokines and inflammatory mediators have been suggested. Sarcopenia also occurs upon exposure to the hypoxia of high altitude. Using data from the Caudwell Xtreme Everest expedition we therefore sought to analyze the extent of hypoxia-induced body composition changes and identify putative pathways associated with fat-free mass (FFM) and fat mass (FM) loss. METHODS: After baseline testing in London (75m), 24 investigators ascended from Kathmandu (1300m) to Everest base camp (EBC 5300m) over 13 days. Fourteen investigators climbed above EBC, eight of whom reached the summit (8848m). Assessments were conducted at baseline, during ascent and after one, six and eight week(s) of arrival at EBC. Changes in body composition (FM, FFM, total body water, intra- and extra-cellular water) were measured by bioelectrical impedance. Biomarkers of nitric oxide and oxidative stress were measured together with adipokines, inflammatory, metabolic and vascular markers. RESULTS: Participants lost a substantial, but variable, amount of body weight (7.3±4.9kg by expedition end; p<0.001). A progressive loss of both FM and FFM was observed, and after eight weeks, the proportion of FFM loss was 48% greater than FM loss (p<0.008). Changes in protein carbonyls (p<0.001) were associated with a decline in FM whereas 4-hydroxynonenal (p<0.001) and IL-6 (p<0.001) correlated with FFM loss. GLP-1 (r=-0.45, p<0.001) and nitrite (r=-0.29, p<0.001) concentration changes were associated with FFM loss. In a multivariate model, GLP-1, insulin and nitrite were significant predictors of FFM loss while protein carbonyls were predicted FM loss. CONCLUSIONS: The putative role of GLP-1 and nitrite as mediators of the effects of hypoxia on FFM is an intriguing finding. If confirmed, nutritional and pharmacological interventions targeting these pathways may offer new avenues for prevention and treatment of sarcopenia.

Reduced parenteral nutrition requirements following anastomosis of a short residual colonic segment to a short jejunum.

A 22-year-old man suffered an acute small bowel infarct leading to extensive bowel resection, resulting in only 20 cm of jejunum to a jejunostomy, although he also had 50 cm of residual colon with a mucous fistula. The patient was out on long-term home parenteral nutrition (PN) but endured high stomal losses of 5-6 L per day and, despite all conventional measures, required 6.1 L of fluid (including PN) and 555 mmol sodium per day. Although body mass index was maintained, he suffered debilitating malaise and recurrent episodes of catheter-related sepsis and also developed persistently abnormal liver function tests. He was considered a potential intestinal transplant patient, but before taking that step, he opted for reanastomosis of his residual colon to his jejunum, ending in a colostomy. At surgery, only 30 cm of additional bowel lengthening could be achieved, but despite this, the patient's stomal losses reduced to 2.5 L per day, intravenous fluid requirements reduced to 4.1 L per day, and liver function normalized. The patient also gained 7.5 kg despite no change in PN caloric prescription, and his quality of life was dramatically enhanced. The case illustrates that even a small length of colon can grant significant improvements, probably via improvements in small bowel transit and adaptive changes, better sodium and water resorption with decreased hyperaldosteronism, and enhanced energy and nitrogen recovery. Reanastomosis of defunctioned colon should therefore always be considered a management option in short bowel syndrome.

The value of multidisciplinary nutritional gastroenterology clinics for intestinal failure and other gastrointestinal patients.

An increasing number of patients have chronic intestinal failure (IF) or other problems needing nutritional support. These patients need regular input from gastroenterologists, nutrition nurse specialists and dietitians, but traditionally these healthcare professionals see them separately. Here the authors describe their experience of a combined regional nutritional gastroenterology clinic and outline strategies that can avoid the need for home parenteral nutrition (HPN) or intravenous fluids in most cases. Over a 1-year period, 73 patients attended their clinic, with the majority (74%) coming from their own catchment area of 500 000. Of the 63 patients with IF, 49 had short bowel syndrome. 38 of the patients with IF (60%) could be managed with dietary and pharmacological modifications alone, while eight (13%) needed enteral tube feeding and 17 (27%) HPN or intravenous fluids. However, only nine (53%) of the 17 patients referred from other centres specifically for HPN instigation actually needed HPN or intravenous fluids. Patient satisfaction with the combined multidisciplinary clinic was high, with 85% of patients preferring to be seen within this model of outpatient care, although questionnaire response rates were low. The authors have therefore shown that a multidisciplinary nutritional gastroenterology clinic can provide effective patient-centred care and can minimise the need for invasive and costly intravenous nutritional support. Clinics of this type should be an integral part of the current plans to implement regional IF services.