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Effects of enteral nutrition on heart function, inflammatory markers and immune function in elderly patients with
Dan Zhang1, Hongli Li2, Xiang Tian3
1Dan Zhang, Department of Outpatient, Baoding First Central Hospital, Baoding, Hebei 071000, China.
Insights
Enteral nutrition significantly improves heart function, reduces inflammation, and enhances immunity in elderly patients with chronic heart failure. This nutritional support offers a safe and effective recovery strategy without significant gastrointestinal side effects.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Geriatrics
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Chronic heart failure (CHF) in the elderly presents complex challenges, often exacerbated by malnutrition and inflammation.
- Optimizing nutritional status is crucial for managing CHF and improving patient outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the impact of enteral nutrition on cardiac function, inflammatory markers, and immune status in elderly CHF patients.
- To determine the clinical significance and safety of enteral nutrition in this population.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial involving 80 elderly patients with moderate to severe CHF.
- The experimental group received enteral nutrition alongside conventional therapy for one month.
- The control group received conventional therapy with dietary restrictions.
Main Results:
- Enteral nutrition significantly improved cardiac function indicators (BNP, LVEDD, LVEF) and exercise capacity (6-minute walk test).
- Reduced levels of inflammatory markers (TNF-α, CRP, IL-6) and enhanced immunoglobulin levels (IgG, IgA, IgM) were observed in the enteral nutrition group.
- Improved performance status (ECOG) and comparable gastrointestinal tolerance were noted in the experimental group.
Conclusions:
- Enteral nutrition is a beneficial intervention for elderly patients with chronic heart failure.
- It effectively improves cardiac function, modulates inflammation, boosts immunity, and enhances overall performance status.
- The therapy demonstrates good gastrointestinal tolerance, making it a valuable component of CHF management.
Objectives:
To evaluate the effect of enteral nutrition on heart function, inflammatory markers and immune function in elderly patients with chronic heart failure and its clinical significance.
Methods:
Eighty patients with moderate and severe heart failure admitted to the Cardiology Intensive Care Unit (CCU) of Baoding First Central Hospital from May 2019 to May 2020 were included in this study and randomly divided into two groups: the experimental group and the control group, with 40 patients in each group. The experimental group was given enteral nutrition support therapy on the basis of conventional therapy for one month, while the control group was given restricted salt and water intake on the basis of conventional therapy, and patients were given free diet according to their wishes. The changes in heart function before and after treatment, changes in inflammatory factors such as TNF-a, CRP, IL-6, changes in levels of immunoglobulins such as IgA, IgM, and IgG, and the improvement of the performance status of the two groups were compared and analyzed.
Results:
After treatment, indicators such as BNP, LVEDD, LVEF and 6min walking distance in the experimental group were significantly improved compared with the control group, with statistically significant differences (p<0.05), and the levels of inflammatory factors such as TNF-a, CRP and IL-6 in the experimental group were significantly reduced compared with those in the control group (p=0.00). The levels of IgG, IgA, IgM and other immunoglobulins in the experimental group improved more significantly after treatment than those in the control group, with statistically significant differences (IgG, IgA, p=0.00; IgM, p=0.01). Moreover, the experimental group was significantly superior to the control group in the improvement rate of performance status score (ECOG) after treatment (p=0.04); The incidence of gastrointestinal adverse reactions in the experimental group was 20%, and that in the control group was 15%. No statistically significant difference can be observed in the gastrointestinal tolerance of both groups (p=0.56).
Conclusions:
Reasonable enteral nutrition boasts a variety of benefits for the recovery of elderly patients with chronic heart failure. With reasonable enteral nutrition, the heart function of elderly patients with chronic heart failure can be significantly improved, inflammatory factors can be reduced, immunity and performance status can be enhanced, and gastrointestinal tolerance can be ameliorated without obvious gastrointestinal reactions.
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