This randomized controlled pilot study evaluates the use of oral nutritional supplementation in nutritionally at-risk cardiovascular surgery patients. The oral nutrition supplement is given for 30 days prior to surgery, continuing throughout their surgical hospitalization and ends at hospital discharge. Half of the participants will receive the oral nutritional supplement and the other half will not.
Cardiovascular surgery (CVS) is a resource intensive modality in the treatment of coronary artery disease and valvular heart disease. CVS patients who are malnourished experience increased duration of cardiopulmonary bypass, post-operative infections, impaired wound healing, muscle wasting, longer lengths of intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital stay, higher readmission rates, higher treatment costs and marked increases in mortality. Despite the devastating effects of malnutrition in these patients, physicians and health care practitioners are poor in respect to identification, monitoring and treatment of malnutrition. In two large tertiary hospitals in Ontario, this will be a randomized trial of a novel nutritional pathway to rapidly identify at-risk CVS patients pre-operatively, and then provide oral nutritional supplementation (ONS) during the 30 days prior to surgery, then continue supplementation throughout hospitalization until discharge. Meaningful patient-centered and economic outcomes will be examined.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
49
Participants randomized to this arm will receive one bottle of Ensure Enlive 2 times per day, for 30 days prior to their cardiovascular surgery, plus continue their usual diet. After their CVS and throughout their hospitalization they will continue to receive 2 bottles of Ensure Enlive per day, plus the standard hospital menu (3 meals per day, plus snacks or as ordered by the medical team), ending at hospital discharge.
LHSC-University Hospital
London, Ontario, Canada
Recruitment
This pilot study will be considered as successfully demonstrating feasibility of recruitment if 60 participants are recruited over 12 months. The overarching objective of this pilot study is to prove feasibility of recruitment and of the protocol in order to continue to a large phase 3 trial.
Time frame: 1 year
Nutrition Status
The Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) will be the method of assessment. The MUST is a five-step screening tool to identify adults, who are at-risk of malnutrition.
Time frame: 30 days post surgery date
Functional Performance
Six Minute Walk Test will be the method of assessing physical function and therapeutic response to the intervention. Patients will be asked to walk as far as possible in six minutes, going at their own pace and resting as needed, along a marked walkway.
Time frame: 30 days post surgery date
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