Nutritional support clinical efficacy in tuberculosis: quasi-experimental study

Area of Science:

• Clinical Medicine
• Nutritional Science
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• Hospitalised tuberculosis patients frequently experience nutritional risk.
• Nutritional status significantly impacts clinical outcomes in tuberculosis management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of nutritional support interventions in improving clinical outcomes for hospitalised tuberculosis patients identified with nutritional risk.
• To assess the impact of standardised nutritional support on complication rates, hospital stay duration, and overall clinical efficacy.

Main Methods:

• A study involving 266 patients in an experimental group receiving various nutritional support methods and 190 patients in a control group.
• Data collected included baseline characteristics, nutritional risk, serum albumin (ALB), body mass index, complications, and length of hospital stay.
• Nutritional interventions included adjusted diet, enteral nutrition, total parenteral nutrition, and combined methods.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in baseline characteristics between groups.
• The experimental group showed significantly lower rates of complications (57.89% vs. 70.00%) and secondary infections (51.5% vs. 56.31%) compared to the control group.
• Patients receiving nutritional support had a shorter hospital stay (16.5 vs. 19.55 days) and improved serum ALB levels upon discharge.

Conclusions:

• Standardised nutritional support is effective in improving the nutritional status of hospitalised tuberculosis patients with nutritional risk.
• This approach reduces complications and enhances short-term prognosis.
• Nutritional support significantly improves the overall clinical efficacy in managing hospitalised tuberculosis patients.