Complémentation orale : spécificités gériatriques

Protein and energy supplementation increases total daily dietary intakes in elderly people at risk from malnutrition and may be part of a nutritional care. Nutritional intervention studies have shown that the prescription of protein and energy supplements to malnourished elderly subjects leads to better nutritional status, lower risk of death and shorter hospital length of stay. In elderly patients with hip fracture, the prescription of protein and energy supplements has a protective effect on the risk of postoperative complications and deaths. Nutritional supplementation may favour weight gain in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Data are still incomplete for the effect of nutritional supplementation in patients with pressure sores. However, protein and energy supplements are expensive, and terms of reimbursement do not always allow geriatric patients to be payed back by the social security services. In order to avoid the waste of expensive nutritional products, and to ensure their efficacy, one must combine the prescription of protein energy supplements with the investigation of the underlying factors contributing to weight loss, dietary evaluation and medical supervision of compliance and of nutritional markers.