[Commitment of Asunción. A call to action]

Area of Science:

• Clinical Nutrition
• Nutritional Therapy
• Metabolism

Background:

• The Latin American Federation of Nutritional Therapy, Clinical Nutrition, and Metabolism (FELANPE) unites professionals from 18 countries.
• FELANPE aims to advance clinical nutrition and nutritional therapy in Latin America and the Caribbean.
• This study addresses the implementation of medical nutritional therapy in regional hospitals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the implementation of Parenteral and Enteral Nutritional Therapy (medical nutritional therapy) in Latin American hospitals.
• To assess hospital characteristics, nutritional assessment, diagnosis, therapy teams, and monitoring.
• To provide technical support for the Asunción Commitment.

Main Methods:

• An observational, cross-sectional, multicenter study involving 132 high-complexity hospitals in 14 Latin American countries.
• Data collection via a validated digital questionnaire and explanatory video.
• Ethical approval obtained from relevant committees, including a pilot study in Paraguay.

Main Results:

• The study assessed key aspects of nutritional therapy implementation in participating hospitals.
• Data on hospital characteristics, nutritional assessment, diagnosis, and therapy management were collected.
• Results were presented at the XVIII Latin American Congress of FELANPE.

Conclusions:

• The findings provide a baseline for understanding medical nutritional therapy practices in Latin America.
• The study's results will inform strategies to enhance nutritional care within the region.
• This research supports the ongoing commitment to improving patient outcomes through specialized nutrition.