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The Impact of Denutrition on the Hospital Length of Stay for Patients Undergoing Rehabilitation

NCT02913846 · Status: COMPLETED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 180

Last updated 2018-01-23

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Denutrition is defined as a measurable decrease in functions and/or as change in the body composition, associated with a worsening of the prognosis of the underlying medico-surgical pathology. It is induced by a deficiency in energy, proteins or any other micro or macronutrient and is the result of malnutrition, itself caused by a poor diet or a metabolic disorder.

According to the National Nutrition and Health Plan for Belgium, denutrition is an independent risk factor for the increase of complications, morbidity and mortality rates, average length of hospitalisation and global medical care cost. It is necessary to invest in the prevention of denutrition as the costs of preventive measures are lower than the cost of treating a denutrished patient.

The Belgian financing system of hospitalisation days is based on the structure of the treated pathologies, the age of the patient and the geriatric features of the patient. It encourages all hospitals to lower the length of hospitalisation to the national average for all these criteria. As a consequence, there is a mounting tendency to shorten the average length of stay within the hospital.

The so-called 'Sp' hospital departments occupy a specific place within the organisation of Health Services in Belgium. They are specialized in the treatment and rehabilitation of patients with cardiopulmonary, neurological, locomotor, psycho-geriatric and chronic diseases. These services act as an extension of acute services (continuity of acute hospitalisation) but also as a first entry point for the medical care of patients with various specific diseases (multiple sclerosis, psycho-geriatric disorders, chronic pulmonary disorders...).

The financing of the Sp departments is, as opposed to the financing of other departments, not linked to the patient length of stay. However, an increase in hospitalization duration decreases the rate of admissions and the possibility to accept patients coming from acute hospital units.

The aim of the study is to evaluate the influence of denutrition of patients hospitalized in an Sp department on the length of revalidation stay, the associated costs and the patient's functional autonomy.

Conditions

  • Denutrition

Interventions

OTHER

Nutritional evaluation

A first nutritional evaluation will be performed within 48h of patient admission. Weight and BMI will be measured once a week.

OTHER

Muscular assessment

An assessment of muscular force will be performed once a week.

OTHER

Pre-albumine dosage

Dosage performed once a month.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Brugmann University Hospital

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Samar Hatem, MD · CHU Brugmann

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2016-03-18
Primary Completion
2017-09-12
Completion
2017-09-12

Countries

  • Belgium

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT02913846 on ClinicalTrials.gov