Nutrition competencies for undergraduate medical education: Results of an international interdisciplinary consensus.

BACKGROUND: The gap between the nutrition education provided to medical students and the nutrition competencies and attitudes needed for physicians to provide adequate nutrition care is a global concern. There is no universally accepted benchmark on nutrition competencies for doctors. The objective of this study was to establish, by expert consensus, the objectives of undergraduate nutrition medial education, the nutrition core competencies, and strategies for curriculum development in medical nutrition education. METHODS: We administered a Delphi survey to systematically gather the opinion of a panel of Latin American experts in nutrition. The survey questionnaire was constructed considering scientific literature by using a 5-point Likert scale. Consensus was defined as >70% agreement on the importance of an item (Likert scale 4 and 5). RESULTS: A four-round Delphi survey was conducted for this research. In the second, third, and fourth rounds, we validated a total of 130 competencies by consensus, which were distributed into four different thematic areas: (1) basic nutrition concepts, (2) public nutrition and nutrition prevention throughout the life cycle, (3) nutrition status and disease, and (4) nutrition care process. CONCLUSION: The curricula for general physician education in medical school must include health promotion, prevention, and treatment of diseases related to nutrition. This goal can be reached by integrating ≤130 competencies into four different fundamental areas.

Effect of omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids derived from fish oil in major burn patients: A prospective randomized controlled pilot trial.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The burn patient is the clearest example of prolonged inflammatory response. Various nutrients, particularly omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs), have been demonstrated as attenuating the inflammatory response, and reduce infectious complications. In absence of definitive evidence in major burns the study aimed at investigating the effect particularly on infectious complications of enteral nutrition enriched with ω-3 PUFAs. METHOD: Prospectively randomized controlled trial. INCLUSION CRITERIA: adult patients admitted to intensive care (ICU), burns > 15% body surface area (BSA), with inhalation injury requiring mechanical ventilation for ≥ 6 days and enteral nutrition. INTERVENTION: low-fat (18% energy as fat) modular diet (LF-EN) or identical with 50% of fat as fish oil (FO-EN). Study endpoints: infectious and other complications, length of mechanical ventilation time, mortality. RESULTS: Altogether 92 patients, aged 40 years old and burned 38% BSA were analyzed (45 patients in LF-EN and 47 in FO-EN). Baseline characteristics were similar. Severe sepsis and septic shock together were significantly fewer in FO-EN group, 15% versus 33%, p = 0.03, (others infections unchanged). Non-infectious complications were less frequent in group FO-EN, with a significant reduction of high gastric residual volume (33% versus 8.5%: p = 0.003). Mechanical ventilation was non-significantly shorter with FO-EN (22 versus 26 days). Mortality did not differ. CONCLUSION: The inclusion of ω-3 PUFAs in a low fat diet in ICU burned patients was associated with significant clinical benefits compared to a conventional low fat diet, with lower rates of severe sepsis, septic shock and pyloric dysfunction. TRIAL IDENTIFICATION: NCT02189538.

Creación y desarrollo de una Unidad de Nutrición: La unidad de nutrición especial del CASMU (UNE) / Establishment and development of a Nutrition Unit: the CASMU Special Nutrition Unit (UNE)

Se revisan 880 pacientes tratados en el lapso de siete años por el equipo multidisciplinario de la unidad de nutricion especial del CASMU. Se considera el protocolo de evaluación inicial, los requerimientos y las complicaciones de los pacientes, así como los objetivos de docencia e investigación. En la evaluación inicial de la población nutrida, predomina la pérdida de peso en los hombres, pero existe una disminución global de la albúmina. Existe una evolución inicial de la población nutrida, predomina la pérdida de peso en los hombres, pero existe una disminución global de la albúmina. Existe una evolución en el empleo de las vías de nutrición que pasaron de un 5 por ciento a un 19 por ciento para la enteral exclusiva y de 35 por ciento a 61 por ciento para la mixta. Las parenterales fueron protocolizadas en su realización y su uso, permitiendo una incidencia de sepsis de sólo 1,4 por ciento. Se analiza el empleo de mezclas enterales industrializadas y el desarrollo de mezclas artesanales así como la mejoría de la situación bacteriológica de las mismas. De las complicaciones parenterales, la incidencia de mecánicas por catéteres es baja y las metabólicas presentan una distribución donde predominan las del calcio, 57,1 por ciento y magnesio, 46,2 por ciento. De las enterales, se consideran las habituales (diarrea, constipación, retención gastrica), que para los pacientes en cuidado intensivo estuvieron en el entorno del 25 por ciento y se insiste en la aspiración silenciosa del contenido gástrico, con una incidencia del 15 por ciento, cuyas lesiones fueron estudiadas desde el punto de vista experimental. Los objetivos de capacitación fueron logrados para los integrantes de la Unidad en un nivel adecuado, siendo mejores los logros intrainstitucionales en el área intensivo e intermedio, que en cuidado moderado. La docencia extrainstitucional impartida y la investigación realizada son también examinadas