Daily oral supplementation during and after a hospital stay improved nutritional status in elderly patients, but did not affect weight change
Q Does daily oral supplementation given in hospital and after discharge prevent weight loss in elderly patients?
METHODS
Design:
randomised controlled trial.
Allocation:
{concealed}*.
Blinding:
unblinded.
Follow up period:
60 days.
Setting:
the geriatric ward of a hospital in Liège, Belgium.
Patients:
80 patients ⩾75 years of age (mean age 80 y, 76% women) who were at risk of malnutrition (total Mini Nutritional Assessment [MNA] score between 17 and 23.5). Exclusion criteria: medical conditions preventing oral feeding, patients at end of life, severe dementia (Mini Mental Score <10), clinical signs of dehydration or heart failure, and diseases requiring special dietary treatment (kidney or liver failure).
Interventions:
daily oral supplementation that comprised 1 Clinutren soup (1 …
