Impact of Three-month Home Enteral Nutritional Supplementation on the Nutritional Status of Patients with Malignancy

Abstract: Objective We analysed the impact of home nutritional interventions on the nutritional risk and the incidence and severity of malnutrition in patients with malignancy. Methods In this prospective interventional study, we recruited 60 patients with malignancy who were at nutritional risk (NRS 2002 ≥ 3 scores). These patients were given home enteral nutritional supplementation (HES) for 3 months. The HES included nutritional counselling, oral nutritional supplements (ONS) and tube feeding. The incidence and severity of nutritional risk and malnutrition, as well as the body composition and results of routine blood tests, were compared before and after the intervention. Results A total of 58 patients completed the study. After three months of home enteral nutritional intervention, the incidence and severity of nutritional risk and malnutrition were significantly reduced (the NRS 2002 score was reduced from 3 to 1, the PG-SGA score was reduced from 8.00 to 3.00, P < 0.05). The patients’ body mass index (BMI) and upper arm circumference increased (P < 0.05), the muscle mass, appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASMI) and phase angle (PA) increased (P < 0.05). The serum albumin, pre-albumin and haemoglobin levels increased significantly, while the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR) decreased significantly (P < 0.05). The incidence of hypoproteinaemia and anaemia also decreased significantly (P < 0.05). Conclusion HES can effectively improve the nutritional status of patients and reduce the risk and severity of malnutrition.