Introduction: dysphagia and malnutrition are conditions that frequently appear together in hospitalized patients.Objectives: the main purpose of this study was to analyze the prevalence of malnutrition in patients with dysphagia included in the PREDyCES ® study as well as to determine its clinical and economic consequences.Methods: this is a substudy of an observational, cross-sectional study conducted in 31 sites all over Spain.Results: 352 dysphagic patients were included. 45.7% of patients presented with malnutrition (NRS ® -2002 ≥ 3) at admission and 42.2% at discharge. In elderly patients (≥ 70 years old) prevalence of malnutrition was even higher: 54.6% at admission and 57.5% at discharge. Also, prevalence of malnutrition was higher in urgent admissions versus those scheduled (45.7% vs 33.3%; p < 0.05) and when admitted to small hospitals vs. large hospitals (62.8% vs 43.9%; p < 0.001). In-hospital length of stay was higher in malnourished patients compared to those well-nourished (11.5 ± 7.1 days vs. 8.8 ± 6.05 days; p < 0.001), and in malnourished patients a tendency towards increase related-costs was also observed, even though it was not statistically significant (8 004 ± 5 854 € vs. 6 967 ± 5 630 €; p = 0.11). Length of stay was also higher in elderly patients (≥ 70 y/o) vs adults (< 70 y/o). 25% of dysphagic patients and 34.6% of malnourished patients with dysphagia received nutritional support during hospitalization.

This document seeks to lay down a set of recommendations and to identify key issues that may be useful for the nutritional management of cancer patients.

AimsAmong people with diabetes, 10–25% will experience a foot ulcer. Research has shown that supplementation with arginine, glutamine and β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate may improve wound repair. This study tested whether such supplementation would improve healing of foot ulcers in persons with diabetes.MethodsAlong with standard of care, 270 subjects received, in a double-blinded fashion, (twice per day) either arginine, glutamine and β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate or a control drink for 16 weeks. The proportion of subjects with total wound closure and time to complete healing was assessed. In a post-hoc analysis, the interaction of serum albumin or limb perfusion, as measured by ankle–brachial index, and supplementation on healing was investigated.ResultsOverall, there were no group differences in wound closure or time to wound healing at week 16. However, in subjects with an albumin level of ≤ 40 g/l and/or an ankle–brachial index of < 1.0, a significantly greater proportion of subjects in the arginine, glutamine and β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate group healed at week 16 compared with control subjects (P = 0.03 and 0.008, respectively). Those with low albumin or decreased limb perfusion in the supplementation group were 1.70 (95% CI 1.04–2.79) and 1.66 (95% CI 1.15–2.38) times more likely to heal.ConclusionsWhile no differences in healing were identified with supplementation in non-ischaemic patients or those with normal albumin, addition of arginine, glutamine and β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate as an adjunct to standard of care may improve healing of diabetic foot ulcers in patients with risk of poor limb perfusion and/or low albumin levels. Further investigation involving arginine, glutamine and β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate in these high-risk subgroups might prove clinically valuable.

Background & aims: COVID-19 patients present a high hospitalization rate with a high mortality risk for those requiring intensive care. When these patients have other comorbid conditions and older age, the risk for severe disease and poor outcomes after ICU admission are increased. The present work aims to describe the preliminary results of the ongoing NUTRICOVID study about the nutritional and functional status and the quality of life of adult COVID-19 survivors after ICU discharge, emphasizing the in-hospital and discharge situation of this population. Methods: A multicenter, ambispective, observational cohort study was conducted in 16 public hospitals of the Community of Madrid with COVID-19 survivors who were admitted to the ICU during the first outbreak. Preliminary results of this study include data retrospectively collected. Malnutrition and sarcopenia were screened at discharge using MUST and SARC-F; the use of healthcare resources was measured as the length of hospital stay and requirement of respiratory support and tracheostomy during hospitalization; other study variables were the need for medical nutrition therapy (MNT); and patients' functional status (Barthel index) and health-related quality of life (EQ-5D-5L). Results: A total of 176 patients were included in this preliminary analysis. Most patients were male and older than 60 years, who suffered an average (SD) weight loss of 16.6% (8.3%) during the hospital stay, with a median length of stay of 53 (27e89.5) days and a median ICU stay of 24.5 (11e43.5) days. At discharge, 83.5% and 86.9% of the patients were at risk of malnutrition and sarcopenia, respectively, but only 38% were prescribed MNT. In addition, more than 70% of patients had significant impairment of their mobility and to conduct their usual activities at hospital discharge. Conclusions: This preliminary analysis evidences the high nutritional and functional impairment of COVID-19 survivors at hospital discharge and highlights the need for guidelines and systematic protocols, together with appropriate rehabilitation programs, to optimize the nutritional management of these patients after discharge.

This document seeks to lay down a set of recommendations and to identify key issues that may be useful for the nutritional management of cancer Patients.

There are no studies that have specifically assessed the role of intravenous lipid emulsions (ILE) enriched with fish oil in people with diabetes receiving total parenteral nutrition (TPN). The objective of this study was to assess the metabolic control (glycemic and lipid) and in-hospital complications that occurred in non-critically ill inpatients with TPN and type 2 diabetes with regard to the use of fish oil emulsions compared with other ILEs. We performed a post-hoc analysis of the Insulin in Parenteral Nutrition (INSUPAR) trial that included patients who started with TPN for any cause and that would predictably continue with TPN for at least five days. The study included 161 patients who started with TPN for any cause. There were 80 patients (49.7%) on fish oil enriched ILEs and 81 patients (50.3%) on other ILEs. We found significant decreases in triglyceride levels in the fish oil group compared to the other patients. We did not find any differences in glucose metabolic control: mean capillary glucose, glycemic variability, and insulin dose, except in the number of mild hypoglycemic events that was significantly higher in the fish oil group. We did not observe any differences in other metabolic, liver or infectious complications, in-hospital length of stay or mortality.

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Rationale: Optimal nutrition delivery in the intensive care unit (ICU) is essential in reducing complications and improving patient's outcome. The audit aims to survey prevalent enteral nutrition practices in a Singapore hospital and improve the unit's quality of nutrition care. Methods: Data were collected prospectively from medical and surgical ICU patients from August to December 2019. Information collected includes demographics, nutrition data (Subjective Global Assessment for nutritional status, caloric and protein intake) and clinical outcomes (length of stay, mortality. Data were collected for up to 7 days during patients' stay. Results were reported as mean ± S.D. or median (IQR). Results: Three hundred and ninety-four patients were included in the audit. Cardiovascular related conditions accounted for most of the ICU admissions (32.5%). The 30 and 90-day mortality rates were 20.6% and 22.8%. Feeding was initiated in 83.8% of patients within 48 hours of ICU admission. Hemodynamic instability is one of the main reasons (55%) for delayed feeding. More than 40% of the patients were malnourished. The median length of ICU stay is three days (IQR 2,5; range 1-146), and 81% of patients received !1 (IQR 1,2; range 0-4) dietetic review during the ICU stay. Patients had a mean daily deficit of 391.5±344.5 kCal and 16.7±15.0g protein. Common reasons for not meeting prescribed nutrition include withholding feeds due to hemodynamic instability (3.0%-46.5%) and nonoperative procedures (extubation) (5.5%-71.8%) during the audit days. Approximately 35% of patients met 75% of their nutritional requirement post ICU discharge. Conclusion: Nutrition support was initiated within an appropriate timeframe, but patients were not meeting their prescribed nutritional requirements during their ICU stay. Feeding interruptions during ICU stay is unavoidable, but this may negatively impact the patient's nutritional status, leading to poorer outcomes. A review of current practice to maximise nutrient delivery during and post ICU stay is needed. References: Nil Disclosure of Interest: None declared.