PD374 - NUTRITIONAL PRACTICES AND AWARENESS ABOUT TGF BETA-2 IN IBD MANAGEMENT: INSIGHTS FROM GASTROENTEROLOGISTS AND DIETITIANS IN INDIA.

PD374

NUTRITIONAL PRACTICES AND AWARENESS ABOUT TGF BETA-2 IN IBD MANAGEMENT: INSIGHTS FROM GASTROENTEROLOGISTS AND DIETITIANS IN INDIA.

S. Bhatte^1,*, R. Bhoite¹

¹Nutrition Science, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Hyderabad, India

Rationale: Nutritional management of IBD should focus on amelioration of inflammation in the intestine and promote mucosal healing. The current nutritional standard of care in India focuses on elimination rather than providing supplemental support to attain this objective.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 24 gastroenterologists and 10 dietitians across India to assess the awareness, supplementation practices for management of IBD in Indian patients.

Results: The importance of nutrition in IBD management was well accepted among adult gastroenterologists, and dietitians. Indian patients show low protein intake and poor body composition when compared to healthy adults.¹ Protein supplementation was restricted to active phase of IBD in in-patients and seldom considered in out-patients. Dietitians preferred high-protein, high-calorie formulations, particularly in inpatient settings in addition to the oral diets.  Semi-elemental peptide based or soy based formula are currently used.

According to the consensus guidelines for IBD, use of oral nutritional supplementation with TGF-β2 was associated with improvement in BMI, MUST score, SGA and handgrip strength over a period of 3 months.² About 30% of the clinicians were familiar with Transforming Growth Factor Beta-2 (TGF-β2) and IBD-specific formulas, indicating a significant awareness gap.

Conclusion: Nutritional therapy is widely accepted in IBD care, however, optimizing medical management by introduction of IBD-specific protein formulations with TGF- β2 may help improve clinical outcomes.

References:         1. Ghoshal et al. Malnutrition in inflammatory bowel disease patients in northern India.. Trop Gastroenterol. 2008;29(2):95-97.

        2. Lomer et al. British Dietetic Association Consensus Guidelines.. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2023;36(1):336-377. 

Disclosure of Interest: None declared