Abstract
(1) Background: Poor nutritional status and diarrhea are common complications in cancer patients. (2) Methods: This multicenter, observational, prospective study evaluated the effectiveness of an oligomeric enteral nutrition (OEN) protocol in the improvement of nutritional status and reduction of diarrhea symptoms. Nutritional status was assessed with the Subjective Global Assessment (SGA), Body Mass Index (BMI) and albumin levels. Diarrhea was evaluated by the frequency and consistency of stools (Bristol Stool form scale). (3) Results: After 8 weeks of OEN protocol, the nutritional status improved in 48.3% of patients, with an increased proportion of patients at risk of malnourishment (+27.3%) at the expense of a decrease of moderately (−19.9%) and severely (−7.3%) malnourished patients (p < 0.001). Serum albumin and BMI significantly increased after 8 weeks of OEN treatment (p < 0.005). OEN showed a 71.1% effectiveness in the improvement of stool consistency. The mean number of stools per day significantly decreased from baseline (4.17 stools/day) to week 8 (1.42 stools/day; p = 0.0041). The nutritional status significantly improved even in those patients with persistent diarrhea. (4) Conclusion: The proposed OEN protocol seemed to be effective in improving the nutritional status, frequency and consistency of stools in patients with oncology treatment-related diarrhea even in persistent cases.
Highlights
Despite the improvement in patient’s prognosis and life expectancy enabled by cancer therapy, oncological patients frequently suffer from associated side effects, being gastrointestinal complications common [1].Chemotherapy, other systemic treatments, and radiotherapy can induce and exacerbate the inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract mucosa, resulting in taste changes, nausea, constipation and diarrhea [2]
(4) Conclusion: The proposed oligomeric enteral nutrition (OEN) protocol seemed to be effective in improving the nutritional status, frequency and consistency of stools in patients with oncology treatment-related diarrhea even in persistent cases
Of particular importance is oncology treatment-related diarrhea (OTRD) due to its effects on hydration and electrolyte balance, which can severely compromise the nutritional status of patients [3]
Summary
Despite the improvement in patient’s prognosis and life expectancy enabled by cancer therapy, oncological patients frequently suffer from associated side effects, being gastrointestinal complications common [1].Chemotherapy, other systemic treatments, and radiotherapy can induce and exacerbate the inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract mucosa, resulting in taste changes, nausea, constipation and diarrhea [2]. Of particular importance is oncology treatment-related diarrhea (OTRD) due to its effects on hydration and electrolyte balance, which can severely compromise the nutritional status of patients [3]. Previous studies showed that poor nutritional status was associated with a higher rate of hospital admissions, increased hospital length of stay, reduced quality of life and mortality, and lower tolerance to therapy in cancer patients [6]. All these complications add an extra burden to the negative effects that cancer itself has for patients and healthcare systems [7]
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