Undernourished Stroke Patients Tend to Have Poor Outcomes

A recent Korean university study has shown that if acute ischemic stroke patients are undernourished at the time they are admitted to hospital, they tend to remain underfed while undergoing surgery and treatment and usually have poorer outcomes as a result of their undernourishment. The study found that when acute ischemic stroke patients who were properly nourished when they were admitted to hospital, had much more positive outcomes and less complications.

The undernourishment of ischemic stroke patients increased the risks of possible complications after surgery.

In terms of ischemic stroke patients, undernourishment is a common problem, with about 16% of all patients showing signs and symptoms of being undernourished when they are taken to hospital.

Undernourishment is defined when the patient did not consume enough overall calories, or did not consume enough of one or more nutrients (vitamins, minerals) in their daily diet. The study authors have asserted that while undernourishment is a common factor in stroke patients, the effect of undernourishment in these patients (and others with medical problems) has not been effectively studied to determine exactly what the impact is on the patient's overall outcome from their condition. The researchers have advised that it is necessary to treat undernourishment of an ischemic stroke patient while they are undergoing treatment, to ensure a better recovery. Sung-Hee Yoo, R.N., M.S., University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea, the lead researcher and his team studied 131 ischemic stroke patients within 24 hours of their admittance to hospital and about seven days after their release from hospital. The research team then looked at the patients overall outcome at three months after they were released from hospital.

The researchers discovered that those patients who were undernourished at the time of admittance to hospital continued to be undernourished after they were released too and that there was a significant link between undernutrition at the moment of hospitalization and continued undernutrition one week later and complications following the stroke.

The conclusion of the research was that strategic nutritional support, particularly in patients with baseline undernutrition, could improve clinical outcomes for patients with suffering acute ischemic stroke.

Other research has also concluded that better nutrition is required to assist the body with recovering from ischemic stroke and that undernourishment leads to much worse outcomes for the patient following treatment. They have also advised that these patients be treated for the undernourishment at the same time they are treated for ischemic stroke to prevent unwanted complications from the stroke.


References
Undernutrition as a Predictor of Poor Clinical Outcomes in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients - published in Archives of Neurology, January 2008
Nutritional Support After Ischemic Stroke - More Food For Thought - published in Archives of Neurology, January 2008