Clinical and economic outcomes of nutrition interventions across the continuum of care

Abstract

Optimal nutrition across the continuum of care plays a key role in the short-and long-term clinical and economic outcomes of patients. Worldwide, an estimated one-quarter to one-half of patients admitted to hospitals each year are malnourished. Malnutrition can increase healthcare costs by delaying patient recovery and rehabilitation and increasing the risk of medical complications. Nutrition interventions have the potential to provide cost-effective preventive care and treatment measures. However, limited data exist on the economics and impact evaluations of these interventions. In this report, nutrition and health system researchers, clinicians, economists, and policymakers discuss emerging global research on nutrition health economics, the role of nutrition interventions across the continuum of care, and how nutrition can affect healthcare costs in the context of hospital malnutrition.

Health System Quality Improvement

“…2,19,20 Nutrition screening and interventions (eg, oral nutritional supplements [ONS]) have proven effective for improving patient outcomes and reducing overall costs of care for patients who are malnourished or at risk for malnutrition. [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] For example, several studies of hospitalized patients showed that nutrition screening and assessment, when followed by intervention as needed, could shorten length of stay (LOS) by at least 2 days. 24,28,29 Given their integral role during a patient's hospital stay, nurses are ideally positioned to identify patients at risk for malnutrition and facilitate their treatment.…”

Lean Tissue Imaging

“… 1 As other medical fields have evolved to include sophisticated biomarker assessment methods in the clinical setting, we also advocate for the use of advanced body composition techniques for the assessment of health status of patients. 1 , 88 …”

Outpatient administration of BEAM conditioning prior to autologous stem cell transplantation for lymphoma is safe, feasible, and cost‐effective

“…In a retrospective evaluation of 671 patients undergoing ASCT in IP and OP settings, McDiarmid and colleagues found significantly fewer infections in the OP cohort [21]. Several factors that affect severity of illness, complication rates, and outcomes in hospitalized patients include nutritional status, degree of physical conditioning, sleep quality, and sense of emotional well-being [26,27]. We speculate that these factors contributed to the differences in complications between our IP and OP BEAM cohorts.…”