A foodservice approach to enhance energy intake of elderly subacute patients: a pilot study to assess impact on patient outcomes and cost

Abstract

Background: effective strategies are required to support the nutritional status of patients. Objectives: to evaluate a foodservice nutrition intervention on a range of participant outcomes and estimate its cost. Design: parallel controlled pilot study. Setting: subacute hospital ward. Subjects: all consecutively admitted adult patients were eligible for recruitment under waiver of consent. Methods: the intervention was a modified hospital menu developed by substituting standard items with higher energy options. The control was the standard menu. All participants received usual multidisciplinary care. Outcomes were change in weight and hand grip strength (HGS) between admission and day 14 and..