P151 - NUTRITIONAL CARE PRACTICES IN AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS (ALS): PERSPECTIVES FROM PATIENTS AND HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS

P151

NUTRITIONAL CARE PRACTICES IN AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS (ALS): PERSPECTIVES FROM PATIENTS AND HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS

M. Kuiper^1,2,*, W. Kruithof^2,3, N. Broekman-Peters⁴, D. Schröder- van den Nieuwendijk⁵, J. M. Visser-Meily^2,3, A. Beelen^2,3

¹Rehabilitation, Physical Therapy Science and Sports, University Medical Centre Utrecht, ²Centre of Excellence for Rehabilitation Medicine, University Medical Centre Utrecht and De Hoogstraat Rehabilitation, ³Department of Rehabilitation, Physical Therapy Science and Sports, ⁴Department of Dietetics, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, ⁵Department of Dietetics, Roessingh Rehabilitation Centre, Enschede, Netherlands

Rationale: Nutritional management is crucial in ALS due to high risk of malnutrition¹. This study mapped nutritional care provided to people with ALS, Progressive Muscular Atrophy and Primary Lateral Sclerosis (pwALS) in the Netherlands and identified barriers encountered by healthcare professionals (HCPs) and pwALS.

Methods: Two online questionnaires, addressing current nutritional management were sent to HCPs of the 36 certified ALS care teams in the Netherlands and pwALS drawn from a population-based registry. Topics were: 1) contact between pwALS and their ALS care team, 2) monitoring nutritional status, 3) nutritional advice provided or received, and 4) satisfaction with current nutritional care and barriers encountered.

Results: In total, 100 HCPs and 372 pwALS completed the questionnaires. Dietitian responses (n=36/100) showed that 28% utilized malnutrition screening tools and 17% measured body composition. Dietitians used different predictive equations to estimate energy and protein requirements. Patient responses showed that 50% had contact with a dietitian, 7% indicated body composition had been measured and 25% reported never being weighed or weighing themselves. HCPs and pwALS highlighted the need for comprehensive, up-to-date information on nutrition and ALS, national consensus on nutritional advice and monitoring methods, patient information material and training for HCPs.

Conclusion: Practice variation was observed in the assessment and monitoring of nutritional status and nutritional advice provided. Suboptimal monitoring of nutritional status and estimation of nutritional requirements may result in delayed detection of malnutrition and inaccurate dietary recommendations. Further research and national consensus on monitoring methods and nutritional advice is required.

References: ¹Greenwood DI. Nutrition management of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Nutr Clin Pract. 2013;28(3):392-399.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared