Clinical nutrition : official journal of the European Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition
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A recent meta-analysis showed that supplementation of omega-3 fatty acids in parenteral nutrition (PN) regimens is associated with a statistically and clinically significant reduction in infection rate, and length of hospital stay (LOS) in medical and surgical patients admitted to the ICU and in surgical patients not admitted to the ICU. The objective of this present study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the addition of omega-3 fatty acids to standard PN regimens in four European countries (Italy, France, Germany and the UK) from the healthcare provider perspective. ⋯ These results suggest that the supplementation of PN regimens with omega-3 fatty acids would be cost effective in Italian, French, German and UK hospitals.
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Skeletal muscle is the most abundant body tissue accounting for many physiological functions. However, muscle mass and functions are not routinely assessed. Sarcopenia is defined as skeletal muscle loss and dysfunction in aging and chronic diseases. ⋯ Pre-cachexia and cachexia are observed in patients with cancer, chronic heart failure or liver cirrhosis. Sarcopenic obesity and sarcopenia with normal/increased BMI are observed in rheumatoid arthritis, breast cancer patients with adjuvant chemotherapy and in most of patients with COPD or chronic kidney disease. In these conditions, sarcopenia is a powerful prognostic factor for morbidity and mortality, independent of BMI.