The effects of a high-protein, high-calorie, fiber- and fructo-oligosaccharide-enriched enteral formula on nutritional status, bowel habits and tolerance: Safety and Effectiveness of Enteral Nutrition in elderly Spanish patients (SENS Study).

BACKGROUND Enteral nutrition (EN) is an effective nutritional intervention for patients at risk of malnutrition or malnourished. However, complications such as gastrointestinal intolerance, hyperglycemia or refeeding syndrome can be triggered by EN. AIM To investigate the effects of a tube feeding formula (TFF) on patients' nutritional status, biochemical status, bowel habits and safety. METHODOLOGY Observational, prospective and multicenter study. Patients ≥ 18 years, undernourished or at nutritional risk, who were prescribed a high-calorie, high-protein, fiber-fortified TFF were included. Patients were evaluated over a period of eight weeks (baseline [V1], four weeks [V2] and eight weeks [V3]). RESULTS A statistically significant increase in weight (1.5 kg), body mass index (0.6 kg/m2) and nutritional intake (59.7 kcal/day) was observed between V1 and V2. Between V1 and V3, there was a statistically significant decrease in the percentage of individuals with abnormal biochemical markers for glucose, potassium, total protein and albumin. The number of patients' bowel movements remained stable throughout the study with a mean of 1.1 daily bowel movements. CONCLUSION The TFF was safe and well tolerated, improving patients' nutritional status without altering patients' bowel habits.