Malnutrition, Family Support, and Possible Sarcopenia in Patients Undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation.
Ching-I Hsu, Jeng Wei, Heng-Hsin Tung and 3 others
PMID 34016837WHAT IT FOUND
After TAVI, older adults with possible sarcopenia were more often at risk of malnutrition than those without: 38 of 47 versus 18 of 34.
Albumin was a key marker, and family support related to nutrition but did not differ between groups.
Key findings
01In the 81 TAVI patients, possible sarcopenia was associated with worse nutrition: 38 of 47 possible-sarcopenia patients were at risk of malnutrition versus 18 of 34 without sarcopenia, and 5 of 47 were malnourished versus 2 of 34.
02After adjustment, possible sarcopenia was associated with higher odds of malnutrition (OR 5.549), while higher albumin was associated with lower odds (OR 0.082).
03About 90% reported high family support, with no significant difference between groups, but family support scores were associated with nutritional status (P = .019).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study used convenience sampling at one hospital in Northern Taiwan, so the findings may not apply to other populations. The sample was small (81 patients), which limits precision. Nutritional status and family support were assessed with self-administered questionnaires, not objective measures. Long-term heart function follow-up had missing data, so only a small proportion was measured over time. The study did not assign or test any intervention, so associations cannot show causation.
Declared interests
The authors report no funding or conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that possible sarcopenia caused malnutrition or that increasing family support will improve nutrition. This was an observational case-control study with convenience sampling, and the 5.5-fold association was an adjusted odds ratio with a wide confidence interval, not a tested intervention.