Does a 12-month transitional care model intervention by geriatric-experienced care professionals improve nutritional status of older patients after hospital discharge? A randomized controlled trial

Chareh N, Rappl A, Rimmele M, Wingenfeld K, Freiberger E, Sieber C, Volkert D (2021)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2021

Journal

Nutrients MDPI

Book Volume: 13

Article Number: 3023

Journal Issue: 9

DOI: 10.3390/nu13093023

Abstract

At hospital discharge, many older patients are at health and nutritional risk, indicating a requirement for ongoing care. We aim to evaluate the effects of comprehensive individualized care by geriatric-experienced care professionals, the so-called “pathfinders”, on nutritional status (NS) of older patients after discharge. A total of 244 patients (median age 81.0 years) without major cognitive impairment were randomized to intervention group (IG: 123) or control group (CG: 121) for a 12-month intervention, with up to 7 home visits and 11 phone calls. The comprehensive individualized care contained nutritional advice, when required. The intervention effect after three (T3m) and 12 (T12m) months on change in MNA-SF (Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form) and BMI was evaluated by Univariate General Linear Model (ANOVA), adjusted for age, sex, living situation, and activities of daily living. At baseline, mean MNA-SF did not differ between IG and CG (10.7 ± 2.6 vs. 11.2 ± 2.5, p = 0.148); however, mean BMI was significantly lower in IG compared to CG (27.2 ± 4.7 vs. 28.8 ± 4.8 kg/m2, p = 0.012). At T3m, mean change did not differ significantly between the groups, neither in MNA-SF (0.6; 95%CI: −0.1–1.3 vs. 0.4; −0.3–1.1, p = 0.708) nor in BMI (−0.2; −0.6–0.1 vs. 0.0; −0.4–0.4 kg/m2, p = 0.290). At T12m, mean change of MNA-SF was significantly higher in IG than in CG (1.4; 0.5–2.3 vs. 0.0; −0.9–0.8; p = 0.012). BMI remained unchanged in IG, whereas it slightly declined in CG (0.0; −0.7–0.6 vs. −0.9; −1.6– −0.2 kg/m2, p = 0.034). We observed rather small effects of comprehensive individualized care by pathfinders on NS in older patients 12 months after discharge. For more pronounced effects nutrition expertise might be needed.

Authors with CRIS profile

Neshat Chareh Lehrstuhl für Innere Medizin (Geriatrie) Anja Rappl Lehrstuhl für Biometrie und Epidemiologie Martina Rimmele Lehrstuhl für Innere Medizin (Geriatrie) Ellen Freiberger Lehrstuhl für Innere Medizin (Geriatrie) Cornel Sieber Lehrstuhl für Innere Medizin (Geriatrie) Dorothee Volkert Professur für Klinische Ernährung im Alter

Involved external institutions

Universität Bielefeld DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Chareh, N., Rappl, A., Rimmele, M., Wingenfeld, K., Freiberger, E., Sieber, C., & Volkert, D. (2021). Does a 12-month transitional care model intervention by geriatric-experienced care professionals improve nutritional status of older patients after hospital discharge? A randomized controlled trial. Nutrients, 13(9). https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu13093023

MLA:

Chareh, Neshat, et al. "Does a 12-month transitional care model intervention by geriatric-experienced care professionals improve nutritional status of older patients after hospital discharge? A randomized controlled trial." Nutrients 13.9 (2021).

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