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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Marla Brodsky, RD, LD, CNSD, Rhoda Pomerantz, MD, MPH, and Megan Sliwa, RD, LD. Department of Medicine, Section of Geriatrics, Saint Joseph Hospital, 2900 North Lake Shore Drive, Manor Building Room 607, Chicago, IL 60657, 773-665-3457, mbrodsky@reshealthcare.org
Up to 40% of hospitalized elderly are malnourished. Despite nutrition intervention during hospitalization, nutritional follow-up is often lacking during the post-discharge rehabilitation phase. The purpose of this study was to compare intense nutritional follow-up vs. usual care in malnourished elderly (>65y) by examining nutritional status, quality of life and hospital readmission rates. At risk patients were randomly assigned to either intense nutrition case management (INCM) n=12 or usual care (UC) n=11 group. At baseline and 3 months, nutritional status using Mini Nutrition Assessment (MNA), Energy score, Quality of Life (QOL) and Weight (wt) were measured. INCM group interventions included patient and caregiver education, referrals for community services, nutritional supplements, home visits, phone contact by a registered dietitian, and coordination with aftercare site health providers for nutrition care. UC group received standard nutritional care during hospitalization with no post-discharge follow-up by a registered dietitian. Outcomes demonstrated predicted trends. As compared to the UC group, the INCM group showed positive trends towards improved MNA score %D=+47.9 vs. +10.6, (p=.06); energy score %D=+44.6 vs. -28.2 (p=.0004); QOL %D=+2.1 vs. -21.7 (p=.09). Comparing INCM vs. UC, 78% vs. 50% of subjects gained wt and 8% vs. 36% were re-hospitalized within 3 months. This study shows the importance of post-discharge nutritional follow-up as part of continuity of care for discharged malnourished elderly.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Elderly, Nutrition
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.