ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT OF NUTRITIONAL-STATUS IN STROKE PATIENTS

Citation
Se. Gariballa et Aj. Sinclair, ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT OF NUTRITIONAL-STATUS IN STROKE PATIENTS, Postgraduate medical journal, 74(873), 1998, pp. 395-399
Citations number
29
Language
INGLESE
art.tipo
Review
Categorie Soggetti
Medicine, General & Internal
ISSN journal
0032-5473
Volume
74
Issue
873
Year of publication
1998
Pages
395 - 399
Database
ISI
SICI code
0032-5473(1998)74:873<395:AATONI>2.0.ZU;2-C
Abstract
Stroke illness imposes a heavy and costly work load on hospital and co mmunity care services, and life after stroke can be a miserable affair for stroke patients and their carers. Nutritional factors may have an important role in acute stroke and its outcome. From the Limited amou nt of research undertaken it has been shown that a significant number of patients with stroke are undernourished on admission and their nutr itional status deteriorates further as an in-patient. This is especial ly so for those who are most dependent, in whom undernutrition is also associated with increasing morbidity and mortality. There is some evi dence that nutritional supplementation may improve nutritional status and reduce morbidity and mortality. However most clinically available nutrition screening instruments lack sensitivity and specificity, and abnormal nutritional indicators may simply reflect effects of age, fun ctional disability, or severe underlying disease. Therefore, causal re lationship cannot be assumed without a sufficiently powerful intervent ion study which adequately adjusts for the effects of non-nutritional factors, such as the number and severity of comorbid conditions on cli nical outcome. Meanwhile, doctors, nurses and members of the multidisc iplinary team looking after stroke patients should be made aware of th e likely impact of poor nutritional status on clinical outcome.