Nutritional status and clinical evolution of the elderly in home enteral nutritional therapy: a retrospective cohort study.
Caroline Soares Menezes, Renata Costa Fortes
PMID 31618391WHAT IT FOUND
In elderly people on home enteral feeding, weight and BMI did not differ across reassessments.
Among those completing all four, recorded malnutrition fell from 65.1% to 47.5%, and 59.3% had stable general condition.
Key findings
01At entry, 65.1% of patients were recorded as malnourished; among those completing four reassessments, this was 47.5%.
02Weight, height and BMI did not differ across the evaluation periods.
03Among patients completing four reassessments, 59.3% had maintenance and 24.1% had improvement of general condition.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This was a retrospective chart review with no control group, so it cannot show that home enteral nutrition caused any change. Many records were missing or incomplete: the weight estimation method was absent in 58.7% of the sample, height method in 63.8%, nutritional assessment type in 37.2%, and outcome information in 27.1%. Follow-up was very short for most patients: only 61 patients reached four reassessments, and the sample decreased by 72% from the first to the last reassessment. Clinical evolution was judged subjectively by the nutritionist and caregiver report, not by a standardised outcome measure. Pressure ulcer data were not captured reliably because the programme form did not have a specific field for them. Readmission rates could not be judged against a standard reference value.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the fall in malnutrition or stable BMI as proof that home enteral feeding works. There was no control group, clinical evolution depended on subjective nutritionist and caregiver reports, and the sample decreased by 72% by the last reassessment.