Background: Patients with severe impairment of central nervous system are often malnourished due to feeding difficulties. When adequate oral intake is not possible, gastrostomy placement is required. International guidelines recommend the use of enteral formula, however many caregivers prefer to use pureed food which has many risks. There has been no research so far to compare the efficiency of both feeding regimes when treating malnourishment of neurologically impaired patients. Methods: We allocated 45 moderately or severely malnourished patients with severe neurologic impairment to 2 groups (fed with enteral formula or pureed food). We calculated energy and nutritional needs using the same system for both groups, prepared a feeding plan and gave them counselling. We evaluated nutritional status (weight, BMI and height for age, body composition), gastrointestinal symptoms, number and severity of infections, and satisfaction after 6 and 12 months of treatment. Results: Patients of both groups gained weight and BMI, although the enteral formula group gained more (2.04 vs. 0.31, p = 0.0000 and 3.66 vs. 0.38, p = 0.0002, respectively). However, there was no significant difference in change of height. Both groups gained body fat expressed as fat mass index, although the enteral formula group gained more (1.48 kg/m2 vs. 0.34 kg/m2, p= 0.0000). Only the enteral formula group gained lean body mass expressed as fat-free mass index, while there was no significant change in the pureed food group (0.82 kg/m2 vs. -0.17 kg/m2, p = 0.0091). There was no statistical difference in number and severity of infections and gastrointestinal symptoms. Conclusion: The results show that enteral formula is more effective than pureed food in treatment of malnutrition in patients with severe impairment of central nervous system.
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