Effect of Early Enteral Nutrition Support on Nitrogen Balance and Nihss Score in Elderly Patients With Acute Cerebral Stroke and Dysphagia

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of early enteral nutrition support (EENS) on nitrogen balance and National Institute of Health stroke scale (NIHSS) in elderly patients with acute cerebral stroke and dysphagia. Sixty-eight patients diagnosed with acute brain stroke (ABS) were retrospectively analyzed in our hospital database. Of the included 68 ABS subjects, 37 patients were given early EENS within 72h after ABS diagnosis (experiment group) and the other 31 cases were given a regular liquid diet (control group). The nitrogen balance 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks after EENS were -4.3 ± 1.3, -3.4 ± 1.1, -2.6 ± 1.2 and -2.0 ± 1.1(g/d) respectively for the experiment group and -8.5 ± 3.1, -7.0 ± 2.4, -6.2 ± 1.5 and -5.7 ± 1.1 (g/d) respectively for the control group. This indicated that the nitrogen balance in the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group (p<0.05). After treatment, the NIHSS score were 7.3 ± 2.3 and 7.4 ± 2.4 in the experimental and control groups respectively with statistically significant difference (p<0.05). The risk of developing regurgitation, diarrhea and ventosity in the experimental group were significantly lower than that of the control group (p<0.05). EENS can quickly improve the burden of ABS in elderly patients, elevate the nutritional level and reduce the risk of related complications.

Keywords

• early enteral nutrition support
• acute stroke
• elderly
• dysphagia
• nitrogen balance
• nutritional status