J. Parrott

The effects of different IV fat emulsions on clinical outcomes in critically ill patients.

Objective:To examine the effects of different IV fat emulsions on clinical outcomes in critically ill patients. Design:Secondary analysis of data from a prospective multicenter study. Setting:An international sample of ICUs. Patients:Adult patients who were admitted to the ICU for more than 72 hours, were mechanically ventilated within 48 hours, received exclusive parenteral nutrition for more than or equal to 5 days, and did not change IV fat emulsion type during the data collection period. Interventions:Demographic and clinical data were collected for up to 12 days, until death, or discharge from the ICU, whichever came first. Clinical outcomes were recorded at 60 days following ICU admission. Measurements:Lipid-free, soybean, medium-chain triglyceride, olive, and fish oils in parenteral nutrition were compared using an adjusted Cox proportional hazard model to examine time to termination of mechanical ventilation alive, time to ICU discharge alive, and time to hospital discharge alive. Main Results:A total of 451 patients were included in this study: 70 (15.5%) in the lipid-free group, 223 (49.5%) in the soybean oil group, 65 (14.4%) in the medium-chain triglyceride group, 74 (16.4%) in the olive oil group, and 19 (4.9%) in the fish oil group. When compared with lipid-free parenteral nutrition, patients who received fish oil had a faster time to ICU discharge alive (hazard ratio, 1.84; 95% CI, 1.01–3.34; p = 0.05). When compared with soybean oil, patients who received olive oil or fish oil had a shorter time to termination of mechanical ventilation alive (hazard ratio, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.06–1.93; p = 0.02 and hazard ratio, 1.67; 95% CI, 1.00–2.81; p = 0.05, respectively) and a shorter time to ICU discharge alive (hazard ratio, 1.76; 95% CI, 1.30–2.39; p < 0.001 and hazard ratio, 2.40; 95% CI, 1.43–4.03; p = 0.001, respectively). Conclusions:Use of alternative IV fat emulsions in parenteral nutrition, particularly olive and fish oil, was associated with improved clinical outcomes.

Feeding tube use in patients with head and neck cancer.

Use of a prophylactic feeding tube before concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy (CRT) for patients with head and neck cancer is often debated.

Use of the Subjective Global Assessment to Predict Health-Related Quality of Life in Chronic Kidney Disease Stage 5 Patients on Maintenance Hemodialysis

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine whether a subjective global assessment (SGA) score was predictive of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in stage 5 chronic kidney disease patients on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). DESIGN AND SETTING This was a cross-sectional secondary data analysis of MHD patients receiving therapy 3 times a week at dialysis centers located in the United States, Canada, and New Zealand. Nutritional status was assessed using the 7-point SGA. HRQoL was determined using the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short Form (SF-36). RESULTS The study sample consisted of 94 men (n = 47, 50%) and women (n = 47, 50%), with a mean age of 64.9 ± 12.9 years. The mean SGA score at the end point of the study (6 months) was 5.8 ± 1.1. Participants had a mean HRQoL physical health score of 36.5 ± 9.3 at 6 months, indicating a worse physical health state. The HRQoL mental health summary score was within the normal range (50.5 ± 11.1). After controlling for confounders in the hierarchical regression models, the SGA score significantly predicted HRQoL physical health (R(2) change = 0.124; P = .012). No association was found between the SGA score and HRQoL mental health (P = .925). CONCLUSIONS The SGA score is a significant predictor of HRQoL physical health. Given that nutritional status impacts HRQoL and that decreased HRQoL in patients on MHD is associated with mortality, complications, and reduced compliance with treatment, using the SGA to measure nutritional status can be a tool to help identify dialysis patients with a lower HRQoL in terms of physical health.

Impact of Standardized Feeding Guidelines on Enteral Nutrition Administration, Growth Outcomes, Metabolic Bone Disease, and Cholestasis in the NICU

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to determine whether the implementation of standardized feeding guidelines (SFGs) in a neonatal intensive care unit had an impact on the administration of enteral nutrition, growth, and bone and liver health. Methods: This was a retrospective chart review of infants ⩽32 weeks’ gestation and ⩽1500 g at birth who received enteral nutrition either via traditional care (TC) or via SFGs. The outcomes of the study were to determine the day of life the first enteral feedings were started, the day of life full, fortified enteral feedings were established, the day of life the infant returned to birth weight, the change in weight z score from birth to day of life 30, and the presence of metabolic bone disease and cholestasis. Results: There were 128 infants in the TC group and 125 infants in the SFG group. Based on the Cox regression, no significant differences were found between the 2 groups in the length of time to the first feed (P = 0.110; CI 1.03–1.70), in the length of time to full, fortified enteral feedings (P = 0.334; CI 0.87–1.44), in the length of time to return to birth weight (P = 0.545; CI 0.77–1.28), incidence of metabolic bone disease (P = 0.990), or incidence of cholestasis (P = 0.926). Conclusions: This study provides preliminary evidence that SFGs have an effect on enteral nutrition administration, growth, and morbidity for preterm infants. Although the findings were not statistically significant, they are clinically relevant.

Effect of a Dietitian-managed Bone Algorithm on Serum Phosphorus Level in Maintenance Hemodialysis Patients

OBJECTIVE This study examined the effectiveness of a registered dietitian (RD)-managed bone metabolism algorithm compared with a non-RD (registered nurse and the nephrologist)-managed one on serum phosphorus (PO4) and related clinical outcomes (corrected serum calcium [cCa] level, intact parathyroid hormone [iPTH] level, incidence of parathyroidectomy) among in-center maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients. DESIGN AND SETTING The study was an 18-month retrospective review of adult MHD patients (n = 252) at 5 outpatient dialysis centers in western Massachusetts and Connecticut before and after change in the management of a comprehensive bone metabolism treatment algorithm (intravenous vitamin D, phosphate-binding medication, calcimimetic) from non-RD to RD. Calendar-matched timepoints representing 3-month averages during the non-RD- and RD-managed periods of the same algorithm were used for analyses. Comparisons of outcomes at non-RD-managed timepoint 2 (February 2009-April 2009) and RD-managed timepoint 6 (February 2010-April 2010) were performed considering potential demographic and clinical confounders. RESULTS On average, serum PO4 level was lower during the RD-managed timepoint 6 (5.17 ± 1.23 mg/dL; mean ± standard deviation) compared with non-RD-managed timepoint 2 (5.23 ± 1.24 mg/dL), although the difference between these calendar-matched timepoints was not statistically significant (F = .108, P = .74) after controlling for age, dietary intake (equilibrated normalized protein catabolic rate), and dialysis adequacy (equilibrated Kdrt/V). Mean cCa at RD-managed timepoint 6 (8.76 ± 0.65 mg/dL) was not significantly different from non-RD-managed timepoint 2 (8.79 ± 0.74), and the difference between serum iPTH level at timepoint 6 (363.0 ± 296.8 pg/mL) compared with timepoint 2 (319.8 ± 251.5 pg/mL) was nonsignificant (F = .650, P = .42) after controlling for age. There were fewer parathyroidectomies during the RD-managed period (0.8%) compared with the non-RD-managed period (1.6%). CONCLUSIONS RDs may be equally effective as non-RDs in bone metabolism algorithm management with respect to serum PO4, cCa, and iPTH control in MHD patients. Further research is needed to prospectively evaluate the effect of RD management on these bone mineral outcomes.

Managing Complexity in Evidence Analysis: A Worked Example in Pediatric Weight Management

Nutrition interventions are often complex and multicomponent. Typical approaches to meta-analyses that focus on individual causal relationships to provide guideline recommendations are not sufficient to capture this complexity. The objective of this study is to describe the method of meta-analysis used for the Pediatric Weight Management (PWM) Guidelines update and provide a worked example that can be applied in other areas of dietetics practice. The effects of PWM interventions were examined for body mass index (BMI), body mass index z-score (BMIZ), and waist circumference at four different time periods. For intervention-level effects, intervention types were identified empirically using multiple correspondence analysis paired with cluster analysis. Pooled effects of identified types were examined using random effects meta-analysis models. Differences in effects among types were examined using meta-regression. Context-level effects are examined using qualitative comparative analysis. Three distinct types (or families) of PWM interventions were identified: medical nutrition, behavioral, and missing components. Medical nutrition and behavioral types showed statistically significant improvements in BMIZ across all time points. Results were less consistent for BMI and waist circumference, although four distinct patterns of weight status change were identified. These varied by intervention type as well as outcome measure. Meta-regression indicated statistically significant differences between the medical nutrition and behavioral types vs the missing component type for both BMIZ and BMI, although the pattern varied by time period and intervention type. Qualitative comparative analysis identified distinct configurations of context characteristics at each time point that were consistent with positive outcomes among the intervention types. Although analysis of individual causal relationships is invaluable, this approach is inadequate to capture the complexity of dietetics practice. An alternative approach that integrates intervention-level with context-level meta-analyses may provide deeper understanding in the development of practice guidelines.