Malnutrition & Frailty

THIS INFORMATION IS INTENDED FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONALS ONLY

Effective Management

Managing Malnutrition in your frail patients with the Malnutrition Pathway

Effective management including the appropriate prescription of oral nutritional supplements (ONS) is important in tackling malnutrition in frail patients

The European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) published new evidence-based guidelines for nutritional care in elderly patients, including the appropriate prescription of oral nutritional supplements for effective management of malnutrition, such as:⁹

• Older persons with malnutrition or at risk of malnutrition with chronic conditions shall be offered ONS when dietary counseling and food fortification are not sufficient (Grade GPP, 100% consensus)
• After discharge from hospital, older persons with malnutrition or at risk of malnutrition should be offered ONS (Grade A, 100% consensus)
• When offered to an older person with malnutrition or at risk of malnutrition, ONS should provide ≥400kcal and ≥30g protein per day (Grade A, 97% consensus)

The ‘Managing Malnutrition in the Community Pathway’ can be used to guide clinical decisions on nutritional support in frail patients, including when to start and when to stop ONS. The pathway is available here

CPD module! Click here to learn more about frailty, malnutrition and how to manage it.

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