P725 - NEW DRY TASTE ASSESSMENT METHOD TASENS FOR OLDER HOSPITALIZED ADULTS: A PILOT STUDY

P725

NEW DRY TASTE ASSESSMENT METHOD TASENS FOR OLDER HOSPITALIZED ADULTS: A PILOT STUDY

V. Blanař^1,*, J. Pospichal¹, D. Eglseer², M. Chrastecka¹, P. Brothankova¹, J. Vodicka¹, S. Bauer²

¹Faculty of Health Studies, University of Pardubice, Pardubice, Czech Republic, ²Institut für Pflegewissenschaft, Medizinische Universität Graz, Graz, Austria

Rationale: The prevalence of taste alterations is approximately 19% in adults (40+ years) and 27% in the older population. However, there is limited consensus on standard methods for taste assessment and existing liquid methods have not been sufficiently proven to be accurate for older adults.

The objectives of this pilot study were (1) to test the feasibility of the new dry taste assessment method (TASENS) in older hospitalised adults, (2) to gain information on the association between taste alterations and malnutrition.

Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional pilot study was carried out. Data collection was conducted between October 2023 and February 2024 in the Czech Republic (CZ) and Austria (AT) in geriatric and internal hospital departments. Taste alterations were subjectively assessed on a 10-point Likert scale (0 worse,10 best taste) and objectively with the TASENS method. We collect data on the general characteristics of patients. Nutritional status was assessed using the MNA-SF.

Results: In total, 54 participants took part in the pilot study with a median age of 77 years, 44.4% were women. The evaluation procedure was easy for most participants (79.6%). The duration of the TASENS took a median of 20 minutes in the AT and 11 minutes in the CZ. Half of the participants had normal nutritional status, 40.7% had a risk of malnutrition, and 9.3% were malnourished. The rate of correctly identified tastes by TASENS was highest among participants with normal nutritional status (AT 67.6%; CZ 73.6%) and lowest among malnourished participants (AT 58.3%; CZ 65.6%). 71,4% of the participants had a normal taste according to subjective assessment.

Conclusion: This pilot study identified that the TASENS method is a feasible tool for assessing taste alterations in older populations. One third of the patients experienced alterations in taste according to the TASENS, and those with taste changes were more prone to malnutrition.

Disclosure of Interest: V. Blanař: None declared, J. Pospichal: None declared, D. Eglseer: None declared, M. Chrastecka: None declared, P. Brothankova: None declared, J. Vodicka Other: Jan Vodicka has patent "A tester for the testing of taste, a testing set including such tester, a method of evaluating the data collection from the testing set application and a system to collect such data" issued to University of Pardubice. , S. Bauer: None declared