Implementation of Dietitian Recommendations for Enteral Nutrition Results in Improved Outcomes

• Published in: Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2006-02, Vol.106 (2), p.281-284
• Main Authors: Braga, Jennifer M., Hunt, Alice, Pope, Janet, Molaison, Elaine
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Americans; Biological and medical sciences; Blacks; Clinical outcomes; Comparative studies; Critical Care; Dietary Proteins - administration & dosage; dietary recommendations; dietetics; Dietetics - methods; Dietetics - standards; Dietitians; Energy Intake; Enteral Nutrition - standards; environment; environmental factors; Female; food choices; Food Service, Hospital - standards; health promotion; healthful; Hispanics; hospital diet; hospitalized adult patients; Hospitals, Convalescent - standards; Humans; Inpatient care; Intervention; Length of Stay; Long-Term Care - standards; low fat foods; Male; Medical sciences; Metabolic diseases; Middle Aged; nutrient requirements; Nutrition; Nutrition Assessment; nutrition education; nutritional adequacy; nutritional intervention; patient care; Patient Care Team; patients; Physician's Role; Practice Guidelines as Topic; Professional Autonomy; Quality of Health Care; Retrospective Studies; school food service; school lunch; Serum Albumin - analysis; socioeconomic status; Treatment Outcome; tube feeding; Weight Gain; Whites
• ISSN: 0002-8223; 2212-2672; 1878-3570; 2212-2680
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jada.2005.10.039

A primary role of the registered dietitian (RD) is to assess nutritional needs of patients in states of physiological stress and illness and to recommend changes to diet and tube feedings when warranted. However, implementation of changes is dependent upon the physician accepting the recommendations of the RD. This study evaluated outcomes of two groups of enterally fed patients in a long-term acute-care facility in northwest Louisiana: (a) those for whom the physician accepted RD recommendations; and (b) those for whom the physician did not accept RD recommendations. Data showed that physician-prescribed enteral formulas provided 10.0% less kilocalories and 7.8% less protein than the RD-assessed needs. t tests showed that when RD recommendations were implemented, patients had a significantly shorter length of stay (28.5±1.8 vs 30.5±4.8 days, P