Nutrition au cours des radiothérapies et chimiothérapiesNutritional support during cancer chemotherapy and radiotherapy

Nutritional support for cancer patients treated with radiotherapy and chemotherapy are strongly requested with regard to the frequent malnutrition at time of diagnosis. Furthermore, the malnutrition often progresses with adverse effects of therapy and disease progression. Nutritional screening and assessment are essential. Dietetic care is mandatory for patients with malnutrition or at risk of malnutrition when they are still able to eat. But this oral nutritional support is frequently unable to maintain sufficient nutritional intakes with regard to tumour effect or treatment toxicity. Enteral or parenteral nutrition must be provided to patients unable to absorb adequate quantity of nutrients for a prolonged period. The primary goal is to avoid, especially for malnourished patients, further nutritional degradation which can lead to treatment interruptions, complications or increased risk of death. Routine administration of artificial nutrition has been tested during radiotherapy and chemotherapy but results are conflicting and data are missing for severely malnourished patients. No benefits in terms of treatment toxicity, tumour response, risk of complications and finally mortality have been demonstrated for routine use of artificial nutrition. Most decisions for indication of nutritional support, route of administration and quality of artificial nutrition in this field can't rely today on evidence-based medicine. However, artificial nutrition can provide nutrients and hydration necessary to maintain comfort and to improve survival for patients unable to eat sufficient nutrition for a prolonged period.     

Éducation des familles et de l'enfant en nutrition artificielle à domicile

The techniques of artificial nutrition came of age since the seventies (1969 for enteral nutrition and 1973 for parenteral nutrition). Artificial nutrition has considerably modified the outcome of a great number of children with severe digestive tract pathologies or many other disorders making impossible or ineffective oral food administration. There are currently two techniques of artificial nutrition: enteral nutrition (the most physiological using the digestive tract) and parenteral nutrition (by central venous line, more demanding and more complications). Home parenteral and enteral nutrition emerged with new realities: increase in the number of children needing a nutritional assistance, increase in the number of indications and a constant need to make autonomous the child and the family leading to a better quality of life. The best care for these children needs a multidisciplinary approach (physicians, nurses, dieteticians, pharmacists, speech therapist, psychologists…) and a close relation between primary care and hospital. This also requires a significant investment of parents who are sometimes assisted by private nurses. Parents are thus educated with techniques of enteral nutrition and parenteral nutrition: use of the material, training with the care, learning the action to be taken in case of problem. They have thus a role of caregiver: heavy responsibility necessary to the return at home of their child. The educational role of the hospital team thus takes a paramount importance with the aim to provide an optimal home return and the most adequate care by the family.     

Rôle du pharmacien dans la politique nutritionnelle à l''hôpitalPlace of pharmacist in hospital nutritional policy

Hospital pharmacists have a specific role in nutritional hospital policy. Their lawfully defined missions make them essential actors for the management of nutriments and medical devices needed for artificial nutrition techniques. Their knowledge of galenic questions allow them to ensure preparation of nutrient mixtures for parenteral nutrition in optimal quality and security conditions. Pharmacist is associated with hospital nutritional policy as a member of liaison comity between alimentation and nutrition. He takes part of home artificial nutrition when they are supported by the hospital. All of those institutional roles allow him by its knowledge in nutriments, in galenic questions, and in medical devices to support nutrition team, with which a very near collaboration is essential.     

Adaptations de la prise en charge des patients en nutrition artificielle à domicile au cours de l’épidémie virale COVID-19 en France : avis du Comité de nutrition à domicile de la Société Francophone de Nutrition Clinique et Métabolisme (SFNCM)

Home artificial nutrition, whether enteral or parenteral, is provided to chronic and fragile patients. The current COVID-19 epidemics may compromise their care at several levels: difficulties to access to hospitals mainly focused on treating COVID-19 patients, possible lack of nurses at home, strong reduction of visits by homecare providers, tended flow or lack of hand sanitizers, surgical masks and pumps. The aim of these recommendations put together by the French-speaking Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (SFNCM)’s Home Artificial Nutrition Committee is to define in terms of healthcare resources the minimum care to provide to these patients. We also aim to help cope with the possible tensions, in order to secure the care we must provide to home artificial nutrition patients during this crisis.     

Le cirrhotique face à la chirurgie : rôle de la dénutrition dans les complications infectieuses

Postoperative complications, particularly infectious complications, are more frequent in cirrhotic than in non-cirrhotic patients after abdominal surgery. This is probably the result of a decrease in antiinfectious mechanisms in cirrhotic patients, including humoral and cellular immunodeficiency and an increase in bacterial translocation. The immunodeficient status of cirrhotic patients is partly related to malnutrition. Several clinical studies have recently suggested that enteral and parenteral nutrition improve nitrogen balance and nutritional parameters in patients with chronic liver disease. Chronic or acute encephalopathy has also been improved as well as survival. However the beneficial effect of artificial nutrition on postoperative septic complications in cirrhotic patients has so far never been confirmed in a well conducted randomized study. Giving protein and energy support to patients with cirrhosis undergoing abdominal surgery, together with specific measures such as prevention of intraoperative bleeding, treatment of sodium and water retention, and antibiotic prophylaxis against intestinal gram-negative bacteria needs to be further investigated.     

Nutrition en cancérologie : aspects pédiatriquesNutrition and cancer in children

Cancer is associated with a high risk of malnutrition in children. This risk is different from one tumor to another, at the time of diagnosis and at any time of the disease course. Numerous tumor-related and treatment-related factors are involved. High dose-chemotherapy, with its specific side effects is particularly deleterious. Growth curves are of major interest for the long-term follow up of the nutritional status in children. The systematic use of nutritional risk scores is recommended, in order to improve prevention and early treatment of malnutrition. Nutritional supplies should meet the high protein and energy needs associated with cancer and its treatments. Oral and tube-feeding should be used preferably, according to digestive function. Peripheral parenteral nutrition may serve only as a complementary, short-term nutritional support. Central lines are required for all total and/or long term parenteral nutrition periods. Whatever the nutritional support, it can help to fulfil chemotherapy programmes, with benefit on remission duration and survival.     

Pour l’implantation des équipes transversales de nutrition clinique à l’hôpital : le plaidoyer du pédiatreNutrition support teams in the hospitals: why and how?

Despite major advances in the quality of care in many other areas, the prevalence of malnutrition in hospitals is high and has not decreased over the last 20 years. Young children are especially threatened. Malnutrition is associated with an increase in morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients, induces an increase in length of stay and thus, in hospital costs. The nutritional risk in hospitalized patients is related to the underlying disease and to the organization of feeding and nutrition in the hospitals. Moreover, most of the physicians and other professionals do not have enough knowledge in the area of nutrition. Therefore, the intervention of professionals specialized in nutrition is needed. These professionals must be well organized and coordinated. Two different kinds of nutritional support boards exist in hospitals. Nutrition advisory (steering) boards which include all categories of professionals involved in feeding and nutrition, set broad policies about patients’ meal service and nutrition, but do not envisage patients on an individual basis. By contrast, nutrition (support) teams (NT) are little clinical units (even without devoted beds), involving a small number of nutrition specialists including at least one senior physician, to which patients should be referred individually. The main objective of the NT is to set up optimum nutrition according to each individual situation, especially in case of need for artificial nutrition. The impact of NT intervention, in terms of patients’ outcome as well as financial benefits, has been shown for long.     

Nutrition et soins palliatifsNutrition and palliative care

The proper indication for the nutritional support of the incurable cancer patients relies on many factors. From the medical standpoint an artificial nutrition (AN) may be recommended in the aphagic/obstructed patient if we think that such an approach could prolong the survival time, with an acceptable quality of life. This means that AN may be recommended in the aphagic patients with a relatively good performance status, no involvement of vital organs, slow growing tumors, and few symptoms or symptoms which are easily palliated. Although nutrition is essential to survive, patients and their relatives should be clearly aware that malignant diseases lead to death even if patients are forcedly supported by artificial nutrition. A clear understanding by the patients and their relatives of the goals and limits of AN is essential to reduce the burden of unrealistic expectations or ethical problems associated to the start and the eventual withdrawal of the nutrition. The regimen should be a prudent one with an admixture providing about 25 Kcal/kg/d, high in lipid content and low in water and sodium.     

Practice Paper of the American Dietetic Association: Home Care—Opportunities for Food and Nutrition Professionals

Home care continues to expand. With this growth are opportunities for registered dietitians (RDs) to demonstrate the vital role that they play not only in providing optimal nutrition care, but also in contributing to each patient's quality of life. Home care nutrition services range from individual patient counseling to managing and monitoring parenteral nutrition. RDs' knowledge of nutrition, reimbursement, and new technologies position them to improve care and control costs. Current roles and responsibilities along with emerging areas of professional growth give RDs a multitude of options to provide and expand their services and value in home care.     

Nutritional support in oncologic patients: where we are and where we are going

The use of nutritional support in cancer patients has evolved since its introduction in the clinical practice 40 years ago. Both parenteral and enteral nutrition are now increasingly integrated within the main oncologic strategy with the aim of making surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy more safe and effective. This requires a better awareness of the inherent risk of starvation and undernutrition by the surgeons, medical oncologists and radiologists, the ability to implement a policy of nutritional screening of cancer patients and to propose them the nutritional support in a single bundle together with the oncologic drugs. Four different areas of nutritional intervention are now recognized which parallel the evolutionary trajectory of patients with tumour: the perioperative nutrition in surgical patients, the permissive nutrition in patients receiving chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy and the home parenteral nutrition which may be total (in aphagic-obstructed-incurable patients) or supplemental (in advanced weight-losing anorectic patients). Since cancer is a common disease and the continuous progress in medical therapy is changing its natural history, with more and more patients entering in a chronic and finally incurable phase where nutrition is determinant for survival, we can expect an increased demand for nutritional support in the next future.     

Survival of Patients with Multi-Level Malignant Bowel Obstruction on Total Parenteral Nutrition at Home

Home parenteral nutrition (HPN) may improve the survival in selected patients with malignant bowel obstruction. This retrospective, medical registry-based study aimed to identify clinical and laboratory markers predicting short survival, which would allow a more accurate selection of patients that would benefit from HPN in inoperative bowel obstruction. In a retrospective analysis of 114 patients receiving HPN, the median survival was 89 days after discharge home, and the three and six-month survival probability was 48% and 26%, respectively. Parenteral nutrition was provided during 98% of overall survival time and ended on a median of one day before the patient’s death. Discontinuing chemotherapy, anemia, severe hypoalbuminemia, and water retention appeared correlated with survival shorter than three months. In these cases, routine initiation of HPN should be discouraged, as it may not bring any benefits to the patient. The decision on the initiation of HPN should be made along with continuing or initiating chemotherapy.     

La nutrition artificielle en periopératoire chez le patient diabétique

The diabetic patients are at high risk of malnutrition. One recommends seeking specific deficiencies (zinc, selenium, vitamins C and E) for malnourished diabetic patients. For the perioperative cares, one recommends to cover their protein needs and their caloric needs and to accordingly optimize the antidiabetic treatment. One should probably use oral supplements or enteral nutrition products with a low glycemic index. The presence of diabetic gastroparesis can make it difficult or dissuade enteral nutrition. The incidence of gastroparesis justifies gastric residue control, the use of prokinetic, and nutrition in postpyloric site. An equivalent parenteral carbohydrate intake has a hyperglycaemic effect more important than with the oral or enteral way. It is recommended to use an infusion pump in diabetic patients to administer parenteral nutrition. Daily use of lipid emulsions is recommended in this context.     

Home artificial nutrition in advanced cancer.

Attitudes to home artificial nutrition (HAN) in cancer vary greatly from country to country. A 6-year prospective survey of the practice of HAN in advanced cancer patients applied by a hospital-at-home programme in an Italian health district was performed to estimate the utilization rate, to evaluate efficacy in preventing death from cachexia, maintaining patients at home without burdens and distress and improving patients' performance status, and to obtain information about costs. Patients were eligible for HAN when all the following were present: hypophagia; life expectancy 6 weeks or more, suitable patient and family circumstances; and verbal informed consent. From July 1990 to June 1996, 587 patients were evaluated; 164 were selected for HAN (135 enteral and 29 parenteral) and were followed until 31 December 1996. The incidence of HAN per million inhabitants was 18.4 in the first year of activity and 33.2-36.9 in subsequent years, being 4-10 times greater than rates reported by the Italian HAN registers. On 31 December 1996, 158 patients had died because of the disease and 6 were on treatment. Mean survival was 17.2 weeks for those on enteral nutrition and 12.2 weeks for those on parenteral nutrition. Prediction of survival was 72% accurate. 95 patients had undergone 155 readmissions to hospital, where they spent 15-23% of their survival time. Burdens due to HAN were well accepted by 124 patients, an annoyance or scarcely tolerable in the remainder. The frequency of major complications of parenteral nutrition was 0.67 per year for catheter sepsis and 0.16 per year for deep vein thrombosis. Karnofsky performance score increased in only 13 patients and body weight increased in 43. The fixed direct costs per patient-day (in European Currency Units) were 14.2 for the nutrition team, 18.2 for enteral nutrition and 61 for parenteral nutrition. The results indicate that definite entry criteria and local surveys are required for the correct use of HAN in advanced cancer patients, that HAN can be applied without causing additional burdens and distress, and that its costs are not higher than hospital costs.     

胃癌术后肠内营养与肠外营养的护理分析

目的：探讨胃癌术后肠内营养与肠外营养的护理。方法：研究我院2014年3月至2015年12月期间随机抽取的胃癌术后患者80例,分为对照组与观察组各40例,其中对照组运用肠外营养支持护理,观察组运用肠内营养支持护理,分析两组患者营养支持护理效果差异。结果：在护理前后各蛋白指数上,观察组改善幅度高于对照组,p<0.05;在术后感染率显著并发症发生率上,观察组低于对照组,p<0.05;在肛门排气与住院时长上,观察组短于对照组,p<0.05。结论：胃癌术后通过肠内营养支持护理可以有效的提升患者恢复效果,加快术后恢复,减少术后并发症。     

A review of the instruments used to assess the quality of life of adult patients with chronic intestinal failure receiving parenteral nutrition at home

Home parenteral nutrition is an established method of supporting patients with intestinal failure, but this treatment may be life long and imposes severe restrictions on daily life. Impact on quality of life is an important outcome when considering the management of home parenteral nutrition patients. This paper reviews studies in which the quality of life of patients receiving home parenteral nutrition has been assessed. A systematic search of electronic databases and relevant publications was undertaken to identify generic or treatment-specific questionnaires used with home parenteral nutrition patients. Many of the thirty-four reports discovered were small studies. Nineteen used non-specific generic instruments, eight used non-validated questionnaires, four used a combination of both, and three did not use any formal tool. Few systematic patterns emerged. There are few available data on the quality of life of home parenteral nutrition patients, and there is a need for standardised, scientifically validated, treatment-specific instruments to measure quality of life in this population.