Clinical nutrition : official journal of the European Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Targeting the underlying causes of undernutrition. Cost-effectiveness of a multifactorial personalized intervention in community-dwelling older adults: A randomized controlled trial.
Undernutrition in old age is associated with increased morbidity, mortality and health care costs. Treatment by caloric supplementation results in weight gain, but compliance is poor in the long run. Few studies targeted underlying causes of undernutrition in community-dwelling older adults. This study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a multifactorial personalized intervention focused on eliminating or managing the underlying causes of undernutrition to prevent and reduce undernutrition in comparison with usual care. ⋯ NTR5184 (www.trialregister.nl).
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Recent clinical trials and in vivo models demonstrate probiotic administration can reduce occurrence and improve outcome of pneumonia and sepsis, both major clinical challenges worldwide. Potential probiotic benefits include maintenance of gut epithelial barrier homeostasis and prevention of downstream organ dysfunction due to systemic inflammation. However, mechanism(s) of probiotic-mediated protection against pneumonia remain poorly understood. This study evaluated potential mechanistic targets in the maintenance of gut barrier homeostasis following Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) treatment in a mouse model of pneumonia. ⋯ These data demonstrate LGG can maintain intestinal barrier homeostasis by enhancing gut mucin expression/barrier formation, reducing apoptosis, and improving cell proliferation. This was accompanied by reduced pro-inflammatory cytokine expression in the gut and in a downstream organ (spleen). These may serve as potential mechanistic targets to explain LGG's protection against pneumonia in the clinical and in vivo setting.
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The National Veterans' Affairs Surgical Risk Study identified preoperative hypoalbuminemia as an independent risk factor for postoperative morbidity and mortality. Since that time, few studies have investigated the use of preoperative markers as tools to risk stratify colon cancer patients. The purpose of our study is to determine if there is an association between preoperative hypoalbuminemia and 30-day patient morbidity and mortality in colon cancer patients using the Targeted-Colectomy American College of Surgeons National Surgery Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP). ⋯ Preoperative hypoalbuminemia is associated with an increased risk of early patient morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing surgery for colon cancer. Preoperative optimization of this patient population warrants further investigation in order to prevent delay from surgical intervention to adjuvant therapy.
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Malnutrition is common in patients with hip fractures, and elderly patients with hip fractures lose functional independence and often fail to recover previous functional status. The aim of this study was to determine whether pre-fracture nutritional status predicts functional status of patients with hip fracture at discharge from acute hospitals. ⋯ Pre-fracture nutritional status was a significant independent predictor for functional status at discharge during the acute phase, warranting early assessment of nutritional status and early intervention for successful postoperative rehabilitation.