Oral nutritional supplements demonstrate significant health and cost benefits

Analysis of more than 1 million adult hospital cases revealed 21 percent reduction in length of hospital stay and cost with nutritional intervention

2013-08-30

(Press-News.org) ABBOTT PARK, Ill., Aug. 30, 2013 – Abbott (NYSE: ABT) A recent health economics and outcomes study, conducted by leading health economists and supported by Abbott, found that oral nutritional supplements provided to patients during hospitalization were associated with significant reductions in length of stay and hospitalization cost. Additionally, the 30-day readmission risk was significantly reduced for patients with at least one known subsequent readmission.

The study is being presented this weekend at the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) annual congress in Leipzig, Germany, where it will be highlighted as one of the conference's three "Best Abstracts." The meeting is a leading conference in clinical nutrition, bringing together participants from more than 80 countries.

The study analyzed more than 1 million adult inpatient cases in the U.S., and found that patients provided oral nutritional supplements during hospitalization benefited from: 21 percent, or 2.3 day, reduction in length of stay 21.6 percent, or $4,734, reduction in patient hospitalization cost

Additionally, there was a 6.7 percent reduction in the probability of a 30-day readmission in patients who had at least one known subsequent readmission and were provided oral nutritional supplements during the previous hospitalization.

The study, which also was recently published in the American Journal of Managed Care, provides insights into the economic benefits of prescribing oral nutritional supplements to adult patients in the hospital setting.

"Patients identified as having nutritional deficiencies often face a longer and more difficult recovery process, resulting in higher health care costs and an increase in complication rates," said Marinos Elia, MD, BSc Hon, FRCP, Professor of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism at University of Southampton. "Research demonstrates that oral nutritional supplementation can lead to highly positive economic benefits and improved patient outcomes."

In the study, investigators were able to determine differences in length of stay and costs by comparing hospital stays where oral nutritional supplements were prescribed to patients with similar conditions where oral nutritional supplements weren't prescribed.

"Because oral nutritional supplements are formulated to provide advanced nutrition and calories for patients and are relatively inexpensive to provide, the sizeable savings they generate make supplementation a cost-effective therapy," said study co-author, Tomas Philipson Ph.D., Daniel Levin Chair of Public Policy at the University of Chicago.

"In today's outcome conscious hospital environment, Abbott is committed to delivering products that improve the quality of care for patients and also help reduce health care costs," said Robert H. Miller, Ph.D., divisional vice president, Global R&D and Scientific Affairs for Abbott Nutrition. "In addition to the numerous retrospective studies focused on health economics and outcomes research in our pipeline, nearly all of our clinical research studies now include an economic analysis to help demonstrate a nutritional therapy's total value proposition."

### About the Study The ″Impact of Oral Nutritional Supplementation on Hospital Outcomes" study is a retrospective data analysis on the effect of oral nutritional supplements on hospital economic outcomes. The study compared hospital stays where oral nutritional supplements were provided with similar hospital stays that did not provide oral nutritional supplements. The difference between length of hospital stay and cost of treatment (including supplies, labor, depreciation of equipment, etc.) were measured. The probability of 30-day hospital readmission also was calculated. The retrospective analysis utilized information from more than one million adult inpatient cases found in the Premier Research Database from 2000 – 2010, maintained by the Premier healthcare alliance – representing a total of 44 million hospital episodes from across the United States or approximately 20 percent of all inpatient admissions in the United States. The full sample consisted of adults 18 years and older and focused on oral feeding interventions only. The matched sample ultimately included: 1,160,088 total episodes (oral nutritional supplements episodes N= 580,044 and non-oral nutritional supplements episodes N=580,044), where propensity score matching and instrumental variables were used to address potential bias due to non-random selection.

About Abbott Nutrition For more than 85 years, Abbott Nutrition has been developing and marketing science-based nutritional products to support the growth, health and wellness of people of all ages. Internationally recognized brands include the Similac® brand of infant formulas; the Gain® brand of growing-up milks; the PediaSure® brand of complete and balanced nutrition for children; and the Ensure® brand of complete and balanced nutrition for adults.

The company is a leader in nutritional products clinically shown to address the distinct dietary needs of people with serious health conditions or special nutrient requirements, such as the Glucerna® brand of nutrition shakes and bars for people with diabetes.

About Abbott Abbott is a global healthcare company devoted to improving life through the development of products and technologies that span the breadth of healthcare. With a portfolio of leading, science-based offerings in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic pharmaceuticals, Abbott serves people in more than 150 countries and employs approximately 70,000 people.

Visit Abbott at http://www.abbott.com and connect with us on Twitter at @AbbottNews.

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Alaska tundra shows surprising resilience after unprecedented fire

2013-08-30

Despite the size and severity of the massive 2007 Anaktuvuk River fire on Alaska's North Slope, much of the arctic vegetation has recovered and the tundra is likely to return to its pre-fire condition according to University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist Syndonia "Donie" Bret-Harte and colleagues in a recent scientific paper. In April 2007, a wall of smoke was visible 23 miles south of the fire at the UAF Institute of Arctic Biology Toolik Field Station where Bret-Harte, co-authors and other scientists had several arctic research projects underway. Tundra fires on the ...

The more the merrier

2013-08-30

We know from earlier studies that mice can derive genetic benefits when females mate with multiple males, but until recently, the conditions under which females will voluntarily mate with multiple males were not clear. Kerstin Thonhauser and her colleagues from the Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology of the Vetmeduni Vienna conducted a series of experiments in which female wild-derived house mice (Mus musculus) could mate freely with one or two males while not in danger of sexual coercion by a male. The results provide evidence for the infanticide avoidance explanation. ...

Rheumatoid arthritis: Biologics in second-line therapy show benefit

2013-08-30

The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined 9 biotechnologically produced drugs for the treatment of adults with rheumatoid arthritis in whom prior pharmacological treatment had failed. According to the findings, for each drug the data provide proof, an indication, or at least a hint of a benefit in relation to at least one outcome criterion. This is the conclusion of the final report published by IQWiG on 26 August 2013. In comparison to the preliminary report, additional data and studies confirm the positive effect of biologics. However, ...

Membranes contain beautiful patterns -- but their function is a mystery

2013-08-30

"We do not yet know what the possible biological function of this might be. There should be a reason for the patterns, we just have not discovered it yet", says associate professor Adam Cohen Simonsen, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark. With his colleagues Jes Dreier, Jonathan Brewer, John Hjort Ipsen and Uffe Bernchou (now Odense University Hospital) from the research group MEMPHYS at Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy at the University of Southern Denmark, he has discovered that cell membranes can form spectacular ...

Little changes -- large effects

2013-08-30

Scientists at the University of York have discovered that very small chemical changes to dietary flavonoids cause very large effects when the plant natural products are tested for their impact on the human immune system. Plants are capable of making tens of thousands of different small molecules – an average leaf for example, produces around 20,000. Many of these are found in a typical diet and some are already known to have medicinal properties with effects on health, diseases and general well-being. Now plant biologists and immunologists at York have joined forces ...

UNC researchers find promising new angle for drugs to prevent stroke and heart attack

2013-08-30

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Platelets, which allow blood to clot, are at the heart of numerous cardiovascular problems, including heart attacks and stroke. New research has uncovered a key platelet protein that could offer a new angle for developing drugs to prevent thrombosis, or dangerous blood clots, in patients who are at high risk such as those with atherosclerosis or a history of heart problems. "I think we're at the start of an exciting journey of drug discovery for a new class of antithrombotic therapies," said lead study author Stephen Holly, PhD, assistant professor ...

Researchers identify new drug target for treating jet lag and shift work disorders

2013-08-30

University of Notre Dame researchers, as part of a collaborative effort, have identified a protein that potentially could be a target for drugs that that would help people recover faster from jet lag and better adjust their circadian rhythms during rotational shift work. The study appears in the Aug. 29th issue of the journal Cell. It can be found at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867413009616 An internal circadian body clock helps virtually all creatures synchronize their bodily functions to the 24-hour cycle of light and dark in a day. However, ...

Rim Fire update -- Aug. 30, 2013

2013-08-30

Update for August 30, 2013 - The fire is over 201,00 acres as of 6 am this morning, Aug. 30, 2013 with containment at 32%. More than 40,000 acres of that fire have burned within Yosemite National Park. At least 111 structures have been destroyed by the fire, which has been burning since Aug. 17. According to Inciweb.org: "Burnout operations continued overnight in the southeastern area of the fire. Fire crews continued construction of fire line along 3N01 Road to stop fire spread to the north. Structure defense continues in all fires area. Today's plans are to continue ...

Researchers a step closer to finding cosmic ray origins

2013-08-30

The origin of cosmic rays in the universe has confounded scientists for decades. But a study by researchers using data from the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole reveals new information that may help unravel the longstanding mystery of exactly how and where these "rays" (they are actually high-energy particles) are produced. Cosmic rays can damage electronics on Earth, as well as human DNA, putting astronauts in space especially at risk. The research, which draws on data collected by IceTop, the IceCube Observatory's surface array of detectors, is published ...

From cancer treatment to ion thruster

2013-08-30

Nanosatellites are smartphone-sized spacecraft that can perform simple, yet valuable, space missions. Dozens of these little vehicles are now tirelessly orbiting the earth performing valuable functions for NASA, the Department of Defense and even private companies. Nanosatellites borrow many of their components from terrestrial gadgets: miniaturized cameras, wireless radios and GPS receivers that have been perfected for hand-held devices are also perfect for spacecraft. However, according to Michigan Technological University's L. Brad King, there is at least one technology ...