Effects of Enteral Nutrition on Inflammatory Factors and Cardiac Function in Elderly Malnourished Patients with Heart Failure / 医药导报

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the effects of enteral nutrition( EN) on inflammatory factors and cardiac function in elderly patients with heart failure ( HF ) . Methods A total of 96 elderly patients with HF were enrolled in this study and randomly divided into treatment group A,treatment group B and control group( n= 32 in each group) . Patients in group A were provided with 500 mL of EN daily for 1 month, and those in group B were provided with the same dose of EN for 3 months. Control group was treated with normal diet. The nutrition status of each group was assessed by NRS2002. Meanwhile,all patients were evaluated by New York Heart Association(NYHA) class and left ventricle eject fraction(LVEF). The levels of BNP,IL-6, CRP and TNF-α were also measured before and after nutrition treatment. Results In group A and group B,BMI,TSF,AMC, TP,ALB and HGB increased. Symptoms of HF alleviated quickly and LVEF increased compared to the baseline. The levels of BNP,IL-6,CRP and TNF-α were significantly lower after treatment(P<0. 05) in both treatment groups,and the change in group B was more obvious(P<0. 01) than group A. However,in control group,there is neither evident improvement in cardiac function or nutrition status,nor in inflammatory factor levels. Conclusion Adding EN support to the normal treatment of heart failure in elderly malnourished patients with HF not only improves the function of heart and nutrition status, but also helps to support immune system so as to alleviate acute inflammatory response. The benefits from EN depend on the duration of therapy.