Hospital Patients Are Not Eating Their Full Meal: Results of the Canadian 2010–2011 nutritionDay Survey

The Importance of Nutrition in Cancer Care: A Narrative Review

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Cancer, a complex disease affecting millions globally, presents considerable challenges for both patients and health care providers. Within the broad spectrum of cancer care, nutrition plays a key role in supporting patients throughout their journey. This narrative review examines the role of nutrition in cancer care, exploring its impact on treatment outcomes, nutritional status, current dietary recommendations, physical activity, palliative care, and finally, as a nutritional encouragement for cancer survivors.

RECENT FINDINGS

Evidence indicates that cancer and anticancer treatments frequently cause malnutrition and loss of muscle mass, which can exacerbate symptoms, impair immune function, and hamper recovery. Therefore, adequate nutritional support is crucial for maintaining strength, controlling symptoms, and optimizing treatment tolerance in patients with cancer. Several factors influence nutritional needs and dietary recommendations, including cancer type, treatment, and individual patient characteristics. Nutritional care aims not only to ensure sufficient energy and protein intake, but also to manage specific symptoms such as dysgeusia, nausea, and dysphagia. Registered dietitians play a crucial role in providing personalized nutritional guidance, monitoring nutritional status, and implementing interventions to address emerging challenges in cancer care. Furthermore, recent research has underscored the benefits of dietary interventions in cancer treatment. From targeted nutritional supplements to more invasive nutritional support, interest in how nutrition can affect cancer risk and treatment outcomes is increasing. Overall, this review highlights the critical role of nutritional care in comprehensive cancer treatment. By recognizing and meeting dietary demands throughout the entire cancer journey, health care professionals can improve patients' well-being, response to treatment, and long-term prognosis.

Impact of a moulded pureed diet on taste, appearance, recognisability, and overall liking among patients in an acute hospital

Introduction

Hospital meals potentially influence patients' nutritional, physical, and emotional well-being during their admission. Patients on pureed diets report poorer meal satisfaction, due to taste, appearance, and recognisability, potentially impacting on their nutritional status. This study compared whether a moulded pureed diet made from modified maize starch led to improved taste, appearance, recognisability, and overall liking, compared to an unmoulded pureed diet made from potato starch in an acute hospital.

Methods

Patients on texture-modified diets were recruited and presented with two pureed diets - unmoulded and moulded. Participants were asked to identify meat and vegetable dishes prior to eating. After the meal, participants indicated their diet preference in terms of appearance, taste, and overall liking.

Results

145 participants were recruited, of which 126 completed data collection. 86% correctly identified moulded meat dishes, 69% correctly identified moulded vegetable dishes, with an overall 77% accuracy in identifying moulded puree side dishes. On unmoulded puree side dishes, participants correctly identified 25% of meat dishes, 4% of vegetable dishes, with an overall accuracy of 14%. In terms of preference, the moulded puree was preferred, with 81% for appearance, 76% for taste and 75% for overall preference. When participants had differing preferences for appearance and taste (e.g., prefers unmoulded puree appearance and moulded puree taste), 95% of them subsequently aligned their overall preference with their taste preference (i.e., overall preferred moulded pureed diet). This suggests that taste has a stronger influence on overall preference compared to appearance.

Discussion

Findings indicate that a moulded pureed diet made from modified maize starch led to improved recognisability, taste, appearance, and overall liking compared to an unmoulded pureed diet made from potato starch. Taste had a stronger influence on overall preference compared to appearance. These findings capture patient preferences and may have implications on how hospital pureed diets may be improved, potentially improving patient nutrition and health outcomes.

Absence of oral nutritional support in low food intake inpatients is associated with an increased risk of hospital-acquired pressure injury

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Hospital-acquired pressure injury (HAPI) incidence is a common burden in hospitals. Decreased food intake leading to malnutrition compromises body tissues involved in pressure injury occurrence. However, most tools for predicting pressure injuries do not include daily food intake monitoring nor consider further nutritional interventions. This study aimed to investigate clinical practices for food intake monitoring and its association with predicting HAPI risk, together with Norton Scale use, and whether the initiation or absence of oral nutritional supplements (ONS), separately from other nutritional interventions, was associated with HAPI incidence in low food intake inpatients, who consumed less than 50% of requirements.

METHODS

This observational cohort study covered a one-year period (08/2018-07/2019). Demographic and clinical data were extracted from computerized files of patients hospitalized ≥7 days, aged ≥60 years, and who ate orally. Patients receiving enteral or parenteral nutrition were excluded. Differences were studied between groups without and with HAPI grade ≥2. Subgroups divided by Norton Scale and intake, Norton Scale and albumin levels, food intake and initiation (or not) of any nutritional intervention versus ONS only, were examined for the consistency of association with HAPI.

RESULTS

Of the 5155 admissions during the study period, 895 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria: 48% female, mean age 77.6 ± 9.1 years, 11% with MUST score ≥2. Nutritional intake was reported in 76% of patients, of them 22% had low food intake, and 9% of the study group developed HAPI grade ≥2. Regarding HAPI incidence, no differences were found between groups divided by MUST scores. Independent risk factors significantly associated with HAPI were Norton <14, albumin levels <3 g/dl, and low food intake. Not providing ONS in low food intake patients had an adjusted 3.49-fold (95%CI 1.57-7.75) increase in HAPI risk (6-fold for non-adjusted relative risk).

CONCLUSION

Failure to initiate ONS as part of nutritional support in low food intake patients is associated with high HAPI risk in these patients. Consequently, monitoring of daily food intake for identifying low intake patients should be integrated into routinely used tools such as the Norton Scale, and adherence to nutritional protocols should be addressed.

Obesity and critical care nutrition: current practice gaps and directions for future research

Background

This review has been developed following a panel discussion with an international group of experts in the care of patients with obesity in the critical care setting and focuses on current best practices in malnutrition screening and assessment, estimation of energy needs for patients with obesity, the risks and management of sarcopenic obesity, the value of tailored nutrition recommendations, and the emerging role of immunonutrition. Patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) increasingly present with overweight and obesity that require individualized nutrition considerations due to underlying comorbidities, immunological factors such as inflammation, and changes in energy expenditure and other aspects of metabolism. While research continues to accumulate, important knowledge gaps persist in recognizing and managing the complex nutritional needs in ICU patients with obesity. Available malnutrition screening and assessment tools are limited in patients with obesity due to a lack of validation and heterogeneous factors impacting nutrition status in this population. Estimations of energy and protein demands are also complex in patients with obesity and may include estimations based upon ideal, actual, or adjusted body weight. Evidence is still sparse on the role of immunonutrition in patients with obesity, but the presence of inflammation that impacts immune function may suggest a role for these nutrients in hemodynamically stable ICU patients. Educational efforts are needed for all clinicians who care for complex cases of critically ill patients with obesity, with a focus on strategies for optimal nutrition and the consideration of issues such as weight stigma and bias impacting the delivery of care.

Conclusions

Current nutritional strategies for these patients should be undertaken with a focus on individualized care that considers the whole person, including the possibility of preexisting comorbidities, altered metabolism, and chronic stigma, which may impact the provision of nutritional care. Additional research should focus on the applicability of current guidelines and evidence for nutrition therapy in populations with obesity, especially in the setting of critical illness.

Investigating the patient food experience: Understanding hospital staffs' perspectives on what leads to quality food provision in Ontario hospitals

BACKGROUND

Food quality influences patient food satisfaction, which may subsequently affect food intake and recovery, influencing hospital costs. The present qualitative study aimed to gain an understanding of hospital staff/volunteers experiences of serving food in Ontario hospitals, perceptions of food quality and challenges to quality food provision.

METHODS

Sixteen Ontario hospitals participated. Semi-structured interviews (n = 64 participants) and focus groups (n = 24; 150 participants) were conducted. Transcripts were analysed using inductive thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Four themes emerged: (1) Providing Good Quality Food (e.g., attributes that comprise the construct of meal quality, patients' expectations and desires from meals); (2) Individualising the Food and Mealtime Experience (e.g., processes to identify and cater to patients' needs and preferences); (3) Acknowledging Organisational Constraints (e.g., staffing, budget, etc.); and (4) Innovating Beyond Constraints (e.g., identifying innovation within potential modifiable and unmodifiable organisational constraints).

CONCLUSIONS

Serving meals in hospital is complex because of organisational and patient factors; however, current efforts to serve quality food despite these complexities were uncovered in our investigation. Discussions highlighted current practices that promote food quality and strategies for improvement. Improving food quality and the hospital meal experience can support food intake and patient outcomes, as well as reduce waste and hospital associated costs. The findings can be used to support quality improvement measures aiming to serve high quality food that meets patients' expectations and nutritional needs.

Are traditional screening tools adequate for monitoring the nutrition risk of in-hospital patients? An analysis of the nutritionDay database

BACKGROUND

Monitoring of adequate food intake is not a priority in hospital patients' care. The present study aimed to examine selective data from the nutritionDay survey to determine the impact of food intake during hospitalization on outcomes according to the nutrition risk status.

METHODS

We conducted a descriptive analysis of selected data from 7 consecutive, annual, and cross-sectional nutritionDay samples from 2009 to 2015. The impact of food intake on outcomes was assessed by univariate and multivariate Cox models controlling for PANDORA scores.

RESULTS

A total of 7994 adult patients from Colombia, 7243 patients from 9 Latin American countries, and 155,524 patients worldwid were included. Less than half of the patients worldwide consumed their entire meal on nutritionDay (41%). The number of reduced eaters is larger in the "no nutrition risk group" than in the "nutrition risk group" (30% vs 25%). Reduced eating is associated with higher mortality and delayed discharge in patients, regardless of the nutrition risk status. Patients without nutrition risk at the screening who ate "nothing, but were allowed to eat" had 6 times more risk of mortality (hazard ratio, 6.48; 95% CI, 3.5311.87).

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first large-scale study evaluating the relationship of food intake on clinical outcomes showing an increase of in-hospital mortality rates and a reduction in the probability of being discharged home regardless of the nutrition risk status. Traditional screening tools may not identify a group of patients who will become at risk because of reduced intake while in the hospital.

Reduction of serum albumin in non-critically ill patients during hospitalization is associated with incident hypoglycaemia

AIM

Our study looked at the association between changes in serum albumin (SA) levels during hospitalization and incidence of hypoglycaemia among non-critically ill patients.

METHODS

Included were patients discharged from internal medicine units with hospital stays ≤ 14 days. Patients were allocated to three groups: (1) admission SA > 3.5 g/dL with no decrease during hospitalization; (2) admission SA < 3.5 g/dL with no decrease during hospitalization; and (3) decrease in SA regardless of admission SA level. Incident hypoglycaemia (glucose ≤ 70 mg/dL) was predicted by applying regression analysis, using hypoglycaemia as a dependent variable. Mortality studies were performed using Cox regression.

RESULTS

Included were 7718 patients (mean age 71.8 ± 17.4 years, 49.9% males, 27.1% with diabetes). Of these patients, 12.7% had at least one documented hypoglycaemia episode during hospitalization. Patients with decreases in SA levels during hospitalization (group 3) had higher rates of incident hypoglycaemia compared with patients in groups 1 and 2 (21.0% vs. 6.0% and 16.3%, respectively; P < 0.001 for both). Results remained significant after controlling for admission SA. Strong negative correlations were observed between SA and serum osmolarity (r = -0.204, P < 0.0001) and, separately, between changes in SA with changes in serum osmolarity (r = -0.157, P < 0.001), indicating that SA changes were not due to haemodilution. Overall 1-year mortality was 16.7%, and Cox regression analysis showed an increased 1-year mortality in patients in group 3 (27.9%) compared with those in groups 1 and 2 (15.2% and 13.8%, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Changes in SA during hospitalization are associated with an increased risk of hypoglycaemia during hospitalization of non-critically ill patients.

Protein Intake Falls below 0.6 g•kg-1•d-1 in Healthy, Older Patients Admitted for Elective Hip or Knee Arthroplasty

OBJECTIVE

Hospitalization is generally accompanied by changes in food intake. Patients typically receive hospital meals upon personal preference within the framework of the food administration services of the hospital. In the present study, we assessed food provision and actual food and snack consumption in older patients admitted for elective hip or knee arthroplasty.

DESIGN

A prospective observational study.

SETTING

Orthopedic nursing ward of the Maastricht University Medical Centre+.

PARTICIPANTS

In the present study, n=101 patients (age: 67±10 y; hospital stay: 6.1±1.8 d) were monitored during hospitalization following elective hip or knee arthroplasty.

MEASUREMENTS

Energy and protein provided by self-selected hospital meals and snacks, and actual energy and protein (amount, distribution, and source) consumed by patients was weighed and recorded throughout 1-6 days.

RESULTS

Self-selected meals provided 6.5±1.5 MJ•d-1, with 16, 48, and 34 En% provided as protein, carbohydrate, and fat, respectively. Self-selected hospital meals provided 0.75±0.16 and 0.79±0.21 g•kg-1•d-1 protein in males and females, respectively. Actual protein consumption averaged merely 0.59±0.18 and 0.50±0.21 g•kg-1•d-1, respectively. Protein consumption at breakfast, lunch, and dinner averaged 16±8, 18±9, and 20±6 g per meal, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Though self-selected hospital meals provide patients with ~0.8 g•kg-1•d-1 protein during short-term hospitalization, actual protein consumption falls well below 0.6 g•kg-1•d-1 with a large proportion (~32%) of the provided food being discarded. Alternative strategies are required to ensure maintenance of habitual protein intake in older patients admitted for elective orthopedic surgery.

Need for the Integrated Nutrition Pathway for Acute Care (INPAC): gaps in current nutrition care in five Canadian hospitals

BACKGROUND

Malnutrition is common in hospitalized patients and is associated with increased mortality, length of stay, and risk of re-admission. The consensus based Integrated Nutrition Pathway for Acute Care (INPAC) was developed and validated to enhance patients' nutrition care and improve clinical outcomes. As part of the More-2-Eat project (M2E), five hospitals implemented INPAC activities (e.g. screening) in a single medical unit. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the care gaps with respect to INPAC activities on these five units prior to implementation. Results were used as part of a needs assessment on each unit, demonstrating where nutrition care could be improved and tailoring of implementation was required.

METHODS

Cross-sectional data was collected by site research associates (RAs) using a standardized audit form once per week for 4 weeks. The audit contents were based on the INPAC algorithm. All medical charts of patients on the study unit on the day of the audit were reviewed to track routine nutrition care activities (e.g. screening). Data was descriptively displayed with REDCap™ and analyzed using R Studio software.

RESULTS

Less than half of patients (249/700, 36%) were screened for malnutrition at admission. Of those screened, 36% (89/246) were at risk for malnutrition yet 36% (32/89) of these patients did not receive a dietitian assessment. Also, 21% (33/157) of patients who were not screened at risk were assessed. At least one barrier to food intake was noted in 85% of patient medical charts, with pain, constipation, nausea or vomiting being the most common. Many of these barriers were addressed through INPAC standard nutrition care strategies that removed the barrier (e.g. 41% were provided medication for nausea). Advanced nutrition care strategies to improve intake were less frequently recorded (39% of patients).

CONCLUSION

These results highlight the current state of nutrition care and areas for improvement regarding INPAC activities, including nutrition screening, assessment, and standard and advanced nutrition care strategies to promote food intake. The results also provided baseline data to support buy-in for INPAC implementation in each M2E study unit.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Retrospectively registered ClinTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02800304, June 7, 2016.