LB064 - NUTRITION-FOCUSED PROGRAM IMPROVES SARCOPENIA STATUS AND REDUCES PHYSICIAN VISITS AND HOSPITALISATIONS FOR PATIENTS WITH COPD AND POOR NUTRITION STATUS

LB064

NUTRITION-FOCUSED PROGRAM IMPROVES SARCOPENIA STATUS AND REDUCES PHYSICIAN VISITS AND HOSPITALISATIONS FOR PATIENTS WITH COPD AND POOR NUTRITION STATUS

F. S. Rafique1, B. Hardman1, M. J. Hossain2, R. Stevenson3,*, K. W. Kerr4

1Shine Clinical, Leeds, 2School of Health Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, 3Abbott Nutrition, Maidenhead, United Kingdom, 4Abbott Nutrition, Columbus, United States

 

Rationale: Evaluate the impact on health outcomes of a nutrition-focused, pharmacist-led quality improvement program (QIP) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and poor nutrition status. 

Methods: The QIP was conducted between 4/2023 and 6/ 2024 at 48 general practitioner (GP) practices in the UK. The QIP enrolled adult COPD patients with low BMI ≤18.5 kg/m2 or unexpected weight loss (5-10%), and at least one other risk factor: MUST score ≥1+, SARC-F ≥ 4, high dose inhaled corticosteroids, or 2+ exacerbations in 12 months. Enrolled patients consulted with a pharmacist and were provided pharmaceutical, non-pharmaceutical, and nutrition interventions per a protocol approved by the supervising GP. Nutrition interventions included food fortification advice or oral nutrition supplement (ONS) recommendations. Changes in nutritional status (MUST and SARC-F scores) and healthcare visits after 3-6 months were evaluated using T-tests or Wilcoxon signed-rank tests.

Results: Participating patients were mainly female (59.8%), with mean (±SD) age of 71.6 (±11.5) years, BMI of 19.8 (±4.09) kg/m2, MUST score of 2.279 (±0.93), and SARC-F score of 3.647 (±2.098).  44% of patients were prescribed ONS with 78.7% receiving a high-protein ONS and 69.3% receiving a high-protein ONS with HMB. Outcomes differences (Δ) were calculated as Non-ONS patient value - ONS patient value. Patients receiving ONS had lower MUST (∆=0.618±1.011, p<0.001) and SARC-F (∆=0.647±1.150, p<0.001) scores at follow-up. Patients receiving ONS also had decreased GP (∆=1.063±1.256, p<0.001), hospital (∆=0.4±0.89, p<0.001), accident & emergency (∆=0.898±1.218, p<0.001), and nurse visits (∆=0.705 ±1.297, p<0.001).

Conclusion: Healthcare providers should implement sarcopenia screening and nutrition treatment to reduce muscle loss and improve nutrition status of patients with COPD and malnutrition risk.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared