Comparing dietitian-led group clinics to individual appointments for newly diagnosed patients with coeliac disease

Abstract

surgical unit between 24 th May 2016 and the 22 nd June 2016 were eligible for inclusion in this study. All patients were assessed by a member of the study team within 48 hours of the patients being admitted. A prospective review of the patient's medical and nursing records was undertaken to obtain the data outcomes required. Results: 500 patients (female 236:264 male; mean age 59 years (range 17-100years)) were recruited during the study period. In total 450 patients were from general surgery and 50 patients were from general medicine. Age, cancer diagnosis, emergency admission and female gender were all factors positively linked to increasing incidence of malnutrition. Three hundred and six patients (61%) had presenting symptoms which deleteriously impacted on nutritional status. These included nausea and vomiting (n¼138; 27.6%), diarrhoea or constipation (n¼23; 4.6%), pain (n¼92; 18.4%). Poor appetite and anorexia was reported in 175 patients (34%). Poor tissue viability was reported in 21 patients (4.2%). 130 patients (25%) were nil by mouth at the time of initial assessment by the study team in view of pending surgery. Patients who had a planned admission to hospital had a lower risk of undernutrition using the MUST screening tool when compared to patients admitted as an emergency admission, 25 patients (14.3%) versus 74 patients (22.8%). Our locally used validated nutritional risk screening tool reported 77 planned admission patients (44%) versus 158 emergency patients (48%) were either malnourished or at high risk for malnutrition. Conclusion: Many factors contribute to altered nutritional status. This reinforces the need for robust nutritional screening on admission to hospital and subsequent timely nutritional assessment by trained professionals followed by remedial nutritional treatment. Reference [1] BAPEN.org.uk.