Nutrition Support Team Reconsultation During Nutrition Therapy in Korea

The aim of this study was to investigate the nutrition support team (NST) reconsultation practice and to evaluate reasons and describe risk factors for NST reconsultation during nutrition therapy (NT) in hospitalized patients.

This study included 2505 patients aged >18 years who received NT through NST consultation between January 2016 and December 2016 at Seoul National University Hospital. NST reconsultation refers to consulting the NST more than twice during a single hospitalization period. Risk factors affecting NST reconsultation were included only when NST reconsultation occurred for specific reasons other than routine evaluations.

The NST reconsultation rate was 36.4% (913/2505) with 926 reasons, including 'changes in the nutrition provision method' (n = 474, 51.2%), 'NT-related complications' (n = 284, 30.7%), 'routine evaluations' (n = 137, 14.8%), and 'discharge planing including home NT' (n = 31, 3.3%). The reconsultation rate of enteral nutrition (EN) was 40.8% (n = 378) and that of parenteral nutrition (PN) was 59.2% (n = 548). Among the NT-related complications, diarrhea (n = 65, 49.2%) was the most common with EN, whereas electrolyte abnormality (n = 52, 34.2%) was the most common with PN. Performance of surgery (odds ratio [OR], 2.061; P < .001), low serum albumin levels (<3 mg/dL; OR, 1.672; P < .001), presence of comorbidities (OR, 1.556; P < .001), and low body mass index (kg/m² ) (<18.5; OR, 1.508; P < .001) were predictive risk factors for NST reconsultation.

Frequent evaluation of nutrition status through a multidisciplinary NST is important in patients with these risk factors.