Utilization of Oral Nutritional Supplements in a public university hospital – product characteristics and profile of patient users

• Autor(a) principal: Rodrigues, Thaís Wabner
• Data de Publicação: 2024
• Outros Autores: Hammes, Thais Ortiz, Dall'Alba, Valesca, Strasburg, Virgílio José
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Saúde (Santa Maria)
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.ufsm.br/revistasaude/article/view/71170
• topic: Food supplementation; Protein-energy malnutrition; Nutritional therapy; Financial resources in health; Suplementação alimentar; Desnutrição energético-proteica; Terapia nutricional; Recursos financeiros em saúde

Objectives: To characterize the profile of adult patients using oral nutritional supplements (ONS), as well as to present the formulations used, the amounts consumed and the investment towards these products in a public university hospital in Southern Brazil. Methods: Cross-sectional study with an applicative purpose and verification of primary and secondary data. Data collection was carried out on weekdays for six consecutive weeks, from August to September 2020. For patients with a prescription for ONS, the variables age, gender, associated pathologies, weight and total energy value (TEV) prescribed were evaluated. Data were evaluated as total values, means, standard deviations and percentages. Regarding ONS, the types, nutritional specifications, quantities used and financial cost were verified. Results: The research included 86 patients, 47 (54.6%) of whom were male. The overall mean age was 60.3 years. As for the nutritional status, according to the body mass index (BMI), 54.7% were classified within the normal range. It was identified that 71 (82.56%) of the patients were at nutritional risk. Oncological diseases were the pathologies most associated with hospitalization (31.4%). Most patients, 74.4% (n=64), were receiving diets with a prescription or regular consistency. The daily average of prescription of ONS was 1.4 per person. Five different products were verified the used. The supplements offered corresponded to an average supply of 17.1% of calories for adult patients and 18% for elderly patients considered the TEV prescribed. The financial value of the liter of ONS varied according to its formulation, with a difference of seven times between the price of hypercaloric supplements with caloric densities of 1.0 to 2.4 kcal/ml. Conclusions: The use of ONS by adult patients in this study proved to be a highly relevant resource in nutritional therapy, especially considering the elderly population.