Are Informal Carers and Community Care Workers Effective in Managing Malnutrition? Mini Review

Abstract

Introduction: Hospital-acquired malnutrition significantly impacts patient outcomes, healthcare costs, and morbidity and mortality rates. Despite its prevalence, it often remains underdiagnosed and undertreated in hospitalized patients. This systematic review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of nutritional interventions in preventing and treating hospital-acquired malnutrition among hospitalized adult patients, focusing on recent interventional studies and clinical trials to inform clinical practice and healthcare policy.

Methods: The review included interventional studies and clinical trials published in the last five years up to 2022, sourced from PubMed, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, and EMBASE. Inclusion criteria targeted studies evaluating nutritional interventions for adult hospitalized patients with hospital-acquired malnutrition, with outcomes such as nutritional status, length of hospital stay, readmission rates, and mortality. The study selection process involved screening, full-text review, and quality assessment using standardized tools, with data synthesis conducted qualitatively due to the expected heterogeneity.

Results: Six studies were included, with interventions ranging from oral nutritional supplements and individualized diet planning to enteral and parenteral nutrition. Key findings include a 20% to 50% greater likelihood of nutritional improvement or reduction in complications across the interventions. Notably, personalized nutritional support was associated with a risk ratio of 1.5 (95% CI: 1.2-1.9) for improved nutritional status, and oral nutritional supplements reduced complications with a risk ratio of 0.8 (95% CI: 0.65-0.98). Early initiation of enteral nutrition showed a 25% reduction in the risk of mortality with a risk ratio of 0.75 (95% CI: 0.59-0.95).

Conclusions: This review demonstrates the effectiveness of diverse nutritional interventions in mitigating the effects of hospital-acquired malnutrition. The findings support the integration of tailored nutritional strategies into patient care protocols to improve clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients. Implementing evidence-based nutritional interventions can significantly impact patient recovery, healthcare costs, and overall hospital efficiency.