Advances In Nutritional Support For The Hospitalized Patient

Main Category: Nutrition / Diet
Article Date: 17 May 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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WHAT:

Assessment of a hospitalized patient's nutritional status often remains absent from routine examination, which can lead to unrecognized and untreated malnutrition. In addition, despite a basic understanding by hospitalists that malnutrition can severely impact patient recovery, corrective measures may not always be taken. Also, it can be unclear who on the healthcare team is responsible for addressing nutritional deficiencies (the physician or nutritionist), making the role of the hospitalist vital in the nutritional treatment continuum.

An upcoming symposium at the Society of Hospital Medicine's 2009 meeting, Advances in Nutritional Support for the Hospitalized Patient, sponsored by the Society of Hospital Medicine and supported by an educational grant from Baxter Healthcare Corporation, will provide guidance on proper identification, assessment and treatment of malnourished hospital patients.

At the symposium, leading healthcare professionals will discuss:

- Nutritional assessment at the onset and throughout the treatment experience
- Careful monitoring of response to nutritional therapy
- Types of clinical nutrition that might work best for certain patient types
- Proper administration and preparation techniques, including ways to avoid medication errors and healthcare-associated infections
- Role standardized and multi-chamber bag PN nutrition may play in reducing complications

WHO:

Hear from Chicago-based Alan Buchman, MD, MSPH, professor of Medicine and Surgery at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University (Chicago, IL). Dr. Buchman is a leading gastroenterologist who has won numerous awards, including most recently the American College of Nutrition's Grace A. Goldsmith Award which honors a scientist under the age of 50 who has made significant achievements in the field of nutrition.

The symposium also features Mark DeLegge, MD, professor of medicine and director of the section of Nutrition at the Digestive Disease Center of the Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston, SC). Dr. DeLegge has served as chair of several committees, is a fellow of multiple medical organizations, and has received a number of awards including the Outstanding Nutrition Physician Award from the American Society of Enteral and Parenteral Nutrition (ASPEN).

WHEN:

Saturday, May 16, 2009 from 6:00 - 7:45 am CT; interviews available upon request

WHERE:

Society of Hospital Medicine
Hyatt Regency Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Columbus Ballroom

WHY:

Up to 40 percent of hospitalized patients are estimated to show signs of malnutrition, which left unmanaged can increase morbidity, mortality, length of stay and complications related to poor wound healing and sepsis. The effective use of nutritional treatment may help to combat this problem and be an important part of a hospitalized patient's recovery.

Source
Society of Hospital Medicine

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