Effet du choix des menus sur la prise alimentaire et la satisfaction des patients hospitalisés dans un service de médecine interne

This monocentric cross over trial aimed to compare the effect of choosing the meals with the effect of no choice on the satisfaction and the energy intake of patients hospitalized in a unit of internal medicine. Choosing oneself the meals had no influence on the energy intake during hospitalization, neither the mean energy intake taken over a day or by meal. Moreover, patient satisfaction was not improved when patients choose their meals themselves. In patients with severe undernutrition, energy intake by meal was significantly lower. Hence, energy intake is not increased by the fact of choosing oneself the meal during a hospitalization in internal medicine. However, the oldest patients and those with the highest degree of under nutrition have the lower energy intake during the hospitalization, and a particular attention must be given to them who are easily to identify in clinical setting.