Nutrition assessment, care, and considerations of ventricular assist device patients

A ventricular assist device (VAD) is an implantable mechanical device that is used to partially or completely replace the circulatory function of a failing heart. VADs may serve as a bridge to heart transplantation or as permanent circulatory assistance, also referred to as destination therapy. There is a paucity of information regarding the nutrition complications in VAD patients, and as such, little is presently known of the optimal means of nutrition assessment and management of these complex and often critically ill patients. In this review, a general overview of the VAD, comparisons of nutrition assessment measures, and strategies to meet the nutrition needs of these patients are provided using evidence-based information wherever possible. Because there is a lack of nutrition studies and assessment guidelines specifically for VAD patients, many of the guidelines for care of these patients are currently based on the information available for the care of patients with heart failure. Although the optimal measure to assess nutrition status remains poorly studied, a systematic, thorough nutrition assessment of patients with heart failure and heart transplant candidates prior to VAD placement appears to be important to identify those at nutrition risk and, with appropriate nutrition therapy, decrease their risk for morbidity and mortality. VAD patients with inadequate oral intake may require nutrition support to meet their nutrition needs; however, feeding the hemodynamically compromised patient provides additional challenges.     

Special commentary: a call for intensive metabolic support

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This special commentary addresses recent clinical reviews regarding appropriate nutrition and metabolic support in the critical care setting. RECENT FINDINGS: There are divergent approaches between North America and Europe for the use of early nutrition support and combined enteral nutrition and parenteral nutrition support possibly due to the commercial availability of specific parenteral nutrients. The advent of intensive insulin therapy has changed the landscape of metabolic support in the intensive care unit, and previous notions about infective risk of parenteral nutrition will need to be re-addressed. Patients with brain failure may benefit from an intensive insulin therapy with a blood glucose target that is higher than that used in patients without brain failure. Patients with heart failure may benefit from the addition of nutritional pharmacology that targets proximate oxidative pathophysiological pathways. Intradialytic parenteral nutrition may be viewed as another form of supplemental parenteral nutrition when enteral nutrition is insufficient in patients on hemodialysis in the intensive care unit. SUMMARY: It is proposed that intensive metabolic support be routinely implemented in the intensive care unit based on the following steps: intensive insulin therapy with an appropriate blood glucose target, nutrition risk assessment, early and if needed combined enteral nutrition and parenteral nutrition to target 20-25 kcal/kg/day and 1.2-1.5 g protein/kg/day, and nutritional and metabolic monitoring.     

综合营养评估工具在心衰患者中的应用价值

目的 对心衰患者所采用的综合营养评估工具及应用价值进行综述，为我国心衰患者的营养相关研究提供理论基础。方法 以“营养”、“心力衰竭”、“nutrition”、“heart failure”等为关键词，查询PubMed、Web of Science、知网等数据库相关文献，综述材料。结果 对心衰患者运用的综合营养评估工具种类较多，各量表信效度较高，营养风险和营养不良检出率较好，但均为普适量表，测评内容不能与心衰患者的临床特征完全相符，开发针对心衰患者的营养评估工具处于起步阶段。结论 综合营养评估工具对心衰患者的营养评估效果较好，未来需要加强针对心衰患者营养量表的研究。     

The relationship between hospital market competition, evidence-based performance measures, and mortality for chronic heart failure

Using data from the Joint Commission's ORYX initiative and the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review file from 2003 to 2006, this study employed a fixed-effects approach to examine the relationship between hospital market competition, evidence-based performance measures, and short-term mortality at seven days, 30 days, 90 days, and one year for patients with chronic heart failure. We found that, on average, higher adherence with most of the Joint Commission's heart failure performance measures was not associated with lower mortality; the level of market competition also was not associated with any differences in mortality. However, higher adherence with the discharge instructions and left ventricular function assessment indicators at the 80th and 90th percentiles of the mortality distribution was associated with incrementally lower mortality rates. These findings suggest that targeting evidence-based processes of care might have a stronger impact in improving patient outcomes.     

Fluid and Salt Balance and the Role of Nutrition in Heart Failure

The main challenges in heart failure (HF) treatment are to manage patients with refractory acute decompensated HF and to stabilize the clinical status of a patient with chronic heart failure. Beyond the use of medications targeted in the inhibition of the neurohormonal system, the balance of salt and fluid plays an important role in the maintenance of clinical compensation in respect of renal function. In the case of heart failure, a debate of opinion exists on salt restriction. Restricted dietary sodium might lead to worse outcomes in heart failure patients due to the activation of the neurohormonal system and malnutrition. On the contrary, positive sodium balance is the primary driver of water retention and, ultimately, volume overload in acute HF. Some recent studies reported associations of decreased salt consumption with higher readmission rates and increased mortality. Thus, the usefulness of salt restriction in heart failure management remains debated. The use of individualized nutritional support, compared with standard hospital food, was effective in reducing these risks, particularly in the group of patients at high nutritional risk.     

Nutrition screening tools for hospitalized patients.

There is agreement among international nutrition organizations and healthcare accrediting organizations that nutrition screening is essential to identify patients needing further nutrition assessment to determine appropriate nutrition intervention. Numerous nutrition screening tools are used in hospitals, but many, if not most, have never been validated for the care setting, patient population, or outcome they strive to identify. Thus, it is unclear if they appropriately identify patients who truly need further nutrition assessment and, potentially, intervention. Several nutrition screening tools reported in the literature have been validated in a variety of care settings and patient populations and have been shown to achieve the desired outcome. These tools include the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool, Nutritional Risk Screening 2002, Mini Nutritional Assessment, Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire, Malnutrition Screening Tool, and the Subjective Global Assessment. It is important for clinicians to understand how the tools were validated and for which population and care setting they were developed, and to determine if the tool might be appropriate for use in their institution.     

Nutritional Inadequacies in Patients with Stable Heart Failure

Sodium restriction is the primary nutritional strategy in heart failure; however, other diet-related concerns may also occur. We characterized dietary intake among stable patients with heart failure and a non-heart-failure cardiac control group to quantify and determine prevalence of inadequate micronutrient intake. Two 3-day food records were completed by 123 patients with heart failure and 58 controls. A subset of each group provided two 24-hour urine collections. Mean intake of sodium (2,540±1,122 vs 2,596±1,184 mg/day) and potassium (3,190±980 vs 3,114±828 mg/day) was similar between the heart failure and control groups. Prevalence of inadequate potassium intake was 94% among patients with heart failure and 91% among controls. More than 50% in each group had inadequate intakes of calcium, magnesium, folate, and vitamins D and E. In stable patients with heart failure, sodium intake was not excessive. However, we demonstrated widespread dietary inadequacies of other vitamins and minerals. These findings highlight the importance of diet beyond that of sodium restriction.     

Dietary Habits Moderate the Association Between Heart Failure and Cognitive Impairment

Cognitive impairment is common in heart failure patients. Poor dietary habits are associated with reduced neurocognitive function in other medical populations, including diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. This study examined whether dietary habits help moderate the relationship between heart failure severity and cognitive function. A total of 152 persons with heart failure completed neuropsychological testing and a fitness assessment. Dietary habits were assessed using the Starting the Conversation-Diet questionnaire, a nutrition measure suggested for use in primary care settings. Moderation analyses showed that better dietary habits attenuated the adverse impact of heart failure severity on frontal functioning (b = 1.28, p < 0.05). Follow-up analyses revealed consumption of foods high in sodium was associated with reduced cognitive function (p < 0.05). This study suggests dietary habits can moderate the association between heart failure and performance on tests of attention and executive function. Longitudinal studies are needed to confirm and clarify the mechanisms for our findings.     

Nutrition screening vs nutrition assessment: how do they differ?

Interest in nutrition screening has increased rapidly due to regulatory requirements as well as the known adverse impact of nutrition deficits on outcomes of hospitalization. Screening programs now in use in acute care are often complex and difficult to administer. Current interest in evaluation of all aspects of healthcare using evidence-based methods requires that nutrition screening programs be thoroughly evaluated. Clinicians attempting to evaluate evidence in support of different methods to identify patients who might have nutrition problems are often confronted with research that blurs the distinction between screening and assessment. Therefore, before identifying methods to conduct nutrition screening, it is necessary to have a thorough understanding of the difference between screening and assessment. A review of terms, definitions, and programs for screening in other areas of healthcare will provide some guidance to the clinician faced with development, implementation, and monitoring of nutrition screening programs. This facilitates development of nutrition assessment programs so that patients who have a nutrition screen are assessed in a timely fashion and receive appropriate nutrition interventions.     

Barriers and facilitators of dietary sodium restriction amongst Bangladeshi chronic kidney disease patients

Background: People of Bangladeshi origin have the highest mortality ratio from coronary heart disease of any minority ethnic group in UK and their rate of kidney disease is three‐ to five‐fold higher than that of the European UK population. However, there is little information regarding their dietary customs or knowledge, beliefs and attitudes towards health and nutrition. This multi‐method qualitative study aimed to identify: (i) barriers and facilitators to dietary sodium restriction; (ii) traditional and current diet in the UK; and (iii) beliefs and attitudes towards development of hypertension, and the role of sodium. Methods: Methods included focus group discussions, vignettes and food diaries. Twenty female chronic kidney disease patients attended four focus group discussions and maintained food diaries; ten responded to vignettes during telephone interviews. Triangulation of the results obtained from the three methods identified categories and themes from qualitative thematic analysis. Results: Identified barriers to sodium restriction were deeply‐rooted dietary beliefs, attitudes and a culturally‐established taste for salt. Facilitators of change included acceptable strategies for cooking with less salt without affecting palatability. Dietary practices were culturally determined but modified by participants’ prosperity in the UK relative to their previous impoverished agrarian lifestyles in Bangladesh. Conclusions: Cultural background and orientation were strong determinants of the group’s dietary practices and influenced their reception and response to health communication messages. Efforts to understand their cultural mores, interpret and convey health‐promotion messages in culturally‐appropriate ways met with a positive response.     

Demonstrating the impact of nutrition intervention in a heart failure program

Outpatient heart failure centers using a multidisciplinary approach to management of heart failure are recognized as essential to decreasing costs of treating heart failure. These centers do not typically employ registered dietitians. With hospital foundation funding, our objective was to develop the role of the dietitian and to evaluate the impact of nutrition intervention in a multidisciplinary heart failure program. Based on a needs assessment, the dietitian developed and tested a medical nutrition therapy protocol, education materials, and special education projects. Unannounced 24-hour recalls at 3 points in time were used to determine changes in sodium and fluid intakes. An outcome tracking system was implemented. Intake data were analyzed for patients who were in the program 9 or more months (n=79). Patients’ sodium and fluid intakes at 2 to 3 months and 6 to 9 months were compared with their baseline intakes using paired t test. The sodium decrease of 0.5 g at 2 to 3 months and 6 to 9 months and the fluid decrease of 15 oz at 2 to 3 months and 12 oz at 6 to 9 months were all highly significant (P<.001). Patients active in year 3 (n=82) completed the Minnesota Quality of Life Questionnaire. Compared with baseline, quality of life scores improved by 6.7 points (P<.003) at 3 months and by 5.9 points (P<.04) at 6 months. Of 83 patients hospitalized over 3 years, 6 hospitalizations were the result of an excessive sodium intake. At the completion of the project, the center provided funding for the dietitian to become a permanent team member. These positive findings indicate dietitians should seek involvement in heart failure centers. J Am Diet Assoc. 2002;102:1790-1794.     

危重症儿童营养筛查及营养评定的研究进展

危重症儿童营养不良发生率高,住院期间因多种因素导致营养处方难以完成,增加营养不良发生。合理的营养筛查及营养评定是危重症儿童营养治疗的基石。实施动态营养评定可有效评价营养治疗疗效,并提供改善营养状况的建议。现就危重症儿童营养筛查及营养评定的研究进展进行综述。     

Impact of an Expansion of a Clinical Nutrition Curriculum on Pre-Clerkship Medical Students’ Perception of Their Knowledge and Skills Related to Performing a Nutritional Assessment

Learning how to provide nutritional counseling to patients should start early in undergraduate medical education to improve the knowledge, comfort, and confidence of physicians. Two nutrition workshops were developed for first-year medical students. The first workshop, co-led by physicians and registered dieticians, focused on obtaining nutrition assessments. The second workshop focused on the appropriate dietary counseling of patients with chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular risk. We surveyed students before workshop 1, after workshop 1, and after workshop 2 to assess their perceptions of the value of physician nutrition knowledge and counseling skills as well as their own comfort in the area of nutritional knowledge, assessment, and counseling. We found a significant improvement in their self-assessed level of knowledge regarding counseling patients, in their comfort in completing a nutritional assessment, and in their confidence in advising a patient about nutrition by the end of the first workshop. By the time of the second workshop five months later, students continued to report a high level of knowledge, comfort, and confidence. The implementation of clinical nutrition workshops with a focus on assessment, management, and counseling was found to be effective in increasing student’s self-assessed level of knowledge as well as their confidence and comfort in advising patients on nutrition. Our findings further support the previous assertion that clinical nutrition education can be successfully integrated into the pre-clerkship medical school curriculum.     

Preventing stillbirths through improved antenatal recognition of pregnancies at risk due to fetal growth restriction

Most stillbirths used to be categorized as ‘unexplained’ and were considered, by implication, unavoidable. Recent evidence indicates that they represent a combined challenge for public health and for clinical services. Independent case reviews have found that many deaths are associated with a failure to recognize risk factors and to afford them the appropriate standard of care. The majority of normally formed fetal deaths had preceding, unrecognized intrauterine growth failure. Improved training and adoption of standardized protocols has led to increased antenatal detection of fetal growth restriction, and this in turn has resulted in significant reductions in stillbirths in areas with high uptake of the training programme. A comprehensive, evidence-based growth assessment protocol (GAP) is currently being rolled out across the NHS to implement this strategy for stillbirth prevention.