Nutritional problems in the elderly

Development of millet based ready-to-drink beverage for geriatric population

Three flavoured ready-to-drink beverages were developed using sorghum and finger millet as the base material. Desiccated coconut, fresh carrot and cocoa powder were used for colour and flavour. Optimization was done using laboratory scale trials and bench top sensory evaluation. Total suspended solids of the beverages ranged from 43.8 to 44.4 °Brix. Firmness, consistency, cohesiveness and index of viscosity did not differ significantly (p < 0.05) among the treatments. Optimized beverages were acceptable to consumers as indicated by the overall acceptability score above 7 on a 9 point hedonic scale. Radical scavenging activity (RSA %) was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in coconut flavoured beverage (76.6) while total phenolic content was significantly (p < 0.01) higher in carrot flavoured beverage (142.2 mg/GAE).

Pain Management in Patients with Serious Illness

Managing pain in patients with serious illness can be complex. However, pain is often a prominent symptom in patients with malignant and nonmalignant serious illness and providers have to be adept at balancing effective pain management and safety. Clinicians should start with a standard pain assessment that lays important groundwork for developing a tailored multimodal approach to pain management. It is important to identify physical causes of pain and also existential causes. Opioids are not always appropriate but are still an important tool for managing pain. Basic opioid management and safe practices are essential when managing this population.

Analysis of Current Status on a New Public Health Nutrition Service Pattern in China: A Nutrition Outpatient Clinic-Based Study

Background

Nutrition outpatient clinics were launched in some hospitals as a new pattern of public health nutrition service in recent years in China. The aim of this study was to review and analysis demographics and consultation spectrum in a single nutrition outpatient clinical center in China.

Methods

The retrospective study was performed in the nutrition outpatient clinical center launched by a comprehensive teaching hospital in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province (China). 1014 patients attending the clinic from August 2015 to February 2018 were included. The clinical records including relevant history and baseline data were reviewed and analyzed.

Results

Majority of the patients (41.9%) came to our clinical center for nutrition consultation of healthy dietary services, 32.1% for malnutrition, 6.7% for diabetes, 6.3% for neoplasms, 5.3% for digestive system diseases, and the last 7.6% for hypertension, hematologic diseases, thyroid diseases, and so on. More minor patients came for healthy dietary services compared with the population (P<0.001), and, on the contrary, more adult patients came for malnutrition service, especially obesity (P<0.05), while more elderly patients came for consultation services of diabetes, neoplasms, digestive system diseases, and hypertension (P<0.05).

Conclusion

Our study provided important data of the new public health nutrition service pattern in China which has never been reported yet. It indicated the huge demand of nutrition outpatient clinic, especially nutrition consultation services of healthy diet and malnutrition; further studies about the validity of the new pattern in improving public health nutrition status are expected in the future.

The frailty syndrome: a comprehensive review

The frailty syndrome is defined as unintentional weight and muscle loss, exhaustion, and declines in grip strength, gait speed, and activity. Evidence with respect to the clinical definition, epidemiology, mechanisms, interactions, assessment, prevention, and treatment of frailty in the older adult is reviewed.

Reconstructive urology and geriatrics: issues in older adults

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The elderly population is continuing to expand at record pace in the vast majority of countries worldwide. Many urologic conditions that necessitate reconstructive surgery occur in geriatric patients. To date, there has been a paucity of research on the effects of aging with regard to reconstructive procedures in elderly patients. This review examines factors that influence the feasibility and outcomes of reconstructive urologic surgery in older adults.

RECENT FINDINGS

Age alone has generally not been identified as a significant predictive factor for outcomes in geriatric patients undergoing surgery. Comorbid diseases associated with reduction of physiologic reserve capacity and impairments in the level of independence for activities of daily living appear to have more predictive value. Recent research has focused on defining frailty as a condition that frequently occurs in older adults and may influence clinical outcomes. A variety of cellular and tissue changes associated with aging have also been studied. Inflammatory mediators may play an important role in this process.

SUMMARY

Many urologic conditions that require reconstructive surgery occur in elderly patients. Careful planning may help to improve outcomes. However, there appear to be inherent changes associated with the physiology of normal aging that can significantly influence this process.