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Objective:To investigate the effectiveness of an intensive nutrition intervention or use of wound healing supplements compared with standard nutritional care in pressure ulcer (PU) healing in hospitalised patients.Method:Adult patients with a Stage II or greater PU and predicted length of stay (LOS) of at least seven days were eligible for inclusion in this pragmatic, multicentre, randomised controlled trial (RCT). Patients with a PU were randomised to receive either: standard nutritional care (n=46); intensive nutritional care delivered by a dietitian (n=42); or standard care plus provision of a wound healing nutritional formula (n=43). Relevant nutritional and PU parameters were collected at baseline and then weekly or until discharge.Results:Of the 546 patients screened, 131 were included in the study. Participant mean age was 66.1±16.9 years, 75 (57.2%) were male and 50 (38.5%) were malnourished at recruitment. Median length of stay was 14 (IQR: 7–25) days and 62 (46.7%) had ≥2 PUs at the time of recruitment. Median change from baseline to day 14 in PU area was –0.75cm2(IQR: –2.9_–0.03) and mean overall change in Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing (PUSH) score was –2.9 (SD 3.2). Being in the nutrition intervention group was not a predictor of change in PUSH score, when adjusted for PU stage or location on recruitment (p=0.28); it was not a predictor of PU area at day 14, when adjusted for PU stage or area on recruitment (p=0.89) or PU stage and PUSH score on recruitment (p=0.91), nor a predictor of time to heal.Conclusion:This study failed to confirm a significant positive impact on PU healing of use of an intensive nutrition intervention or wound healing supplements in hospitalised patients. Further research that focuses on practical mechanisms to meet protein and energy requirements is needed to guide practice.

Despite advances in identifying malnutrition at hospital admission, decline in nutritional status of well-nourished patients can be overlooked. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the incidence of hospital-acquired malnutrition (HAM), diagnostic criteria and health-related outcomes. PubMed, CINAHL, Embase and Cochrane Library were searched up to July 2021. Studies were included if changes in nutritional status was assessed with a validated nutrition assessment tool in acute and subacute adult (≥18 yrs) hospitalised patients. A random-effects method was used to pool the incidence proportion of HAM in prospective studies. The certainty of evidence was appraised using the Grading of Recommendation Assessment, Development and Evaluation system. We identified 12 observational cohort studies (10 prospective and 2 retrospective), involving 35,324 participants from acute (9 studies) and subacute settings (3 studies). Retrospective studies reported a lower incidence of HAM (<1.4%) than prospective studies (acute: 9–38%; subacute: 0–7%). The pooled incidence of HAM in acute care was 25.9% (95% confidence interval (CI): 17.3–34.6). Diagnostic criteria varied, with use of different nutrition assessment tools and timeframes for assessment (retrospective studies: >14 days; prospective studies: ≥7 days). Nutritional decline is probably associated with longer length of stay and higher 6-month readmission (moderate certainty of evidence) and may be association with higher complications and infections (low certainty of evidence). The higher incidence of HAM in the acute setting, where nutritional assessments are conducted prospectively, highlights the need for consensus regarding diagnostic criteria and further studies to understand the impact of HAM.

Background: There is currently no review published on the prevalence and incidence of malnutrition in Singapore across various populations, or what interventions or policies are in place for preventing/treating malnutrition.Objectives: This review aims to determine the: (a) incidence and prevalence of malnutrition in the community, and in acute, intermediate and long-term care facilities; (b) interventions implemented for screening, assessing and treating/preventing malnutrition; (c) specific clinical populations investigated for malnutrition or nutritional therapy; and (d) implications of malnutrition and effectiveness of treating malnutrition or using nutritional therapy in Singapore.Methods: A structured search strategy was applied to available electronic databases (MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library and Google Scholar) using selected search terms, with additional reports and grey literature identified using iterative searches.Results: Forty-two articles were found, with the majority of research performed in the community and acute care settings. Malnutrition screening and assessment is the most common nutritional research performed in Singapore. Approximately 14.7% to 65.0% of acute care and 2.8% to 31.5% of community populations are found to be malnourished. Limited interventional and economic-related studies are available.Conclusion: Malnutrition rates in Singapore appear to be similar to other developed countries. Future studies will need to focus on nutritional intervention, cost-effectiveness analyses and specific populations such as the underprivileged, chronically ill and those dependent on nutritional support.

Multiple systematic reviews and meta-analyses (SRMAs) on various nutritional interventions in hospitalized patients with or at risk of malnutrition are available, but disagreements among findings raise questions about their validity in guiding practice.

To investigate the effect of dietitian involvement in a multidisciplinary lifestyle intervention comparing risk factor modification for cardiovascular disease with standard posttransplant care in renal transplant recipients (RTR) with abnormal glucose tolerance (AGT).

Objective:To determine whether a detailed feeding algorithm improved nutrition support of critically ill patients compared with a standard feeding protocol.

Objective: Shortened hospital average length of stay (ALOS) has been used to justify rationalisation of some services, but, by definition, some patients stay for longer than the average. The objective of this study was to explore lengths of stay and proportions of hospital occupied bed-days (OBDs) of those admitted for longer time periods to inform service planning. Methods: The proportion and ALOS of overnight separations at an Australian tertiary hospital were assessed for admissions of up to 4 days and 4 days or more. This was repeated for 7, 14 and 28 days. The proportion of OBD?s for each time period was determined. Results: While the proportion of total hospital patients staying for 4, 7, 14 and 28 days or more is relatively small (21.9%, 13.5%, 6.2%, 2.6%, respectively), they represent a large proportion of OBD?s (74.9%, 67.2%, 50.8%, 34.2%) with an ALOS of 14.0, 20.3, 33.7, and 54.4 days, respectively. The majority of long-stay patients were in acute care. Conclusion: Substantial proportions of OBD?s are due to patients admitted for time periods far greater than reflected by ALOS. Hospitals need to rethink how to optimally accommodate the nutrition and food requirements of the large patient numbers admitted for longer time periods, many of whom are at increased risk of malnutrition.