Nutritional care is of high importance among such patients who have become tube feeding or are on home enteral nutrition because of cancer of the head and neck. Nutritional management involves a detailed assessment of such patients regarding the determination of overall energy needs in terms of the requirement of calories for recovery to maintain good health. An important parameter thereby is resting energy expenditure. Although predictive equations of various types can be used, the present study identifies the same have failed in providing appropriate results among such patient groups.
The researchers used new, advanced means of directly measuring the body’s energy requirements and compared their findings with predictions through a variety of equations. They found that such reliance could easily lead to the twin evils of underfeeding or overfeeding a patient. Both are harmful to a patient’s recovery and health.
This study indeed highlights that nutritional care has to be individualized to meet the particular energy needs of each patient. The authors conclude that direct measurement tools should be used, when possible, to ensure the accuracy of feeding plans. Their findings have emphasized the critical role that personalized nutrition could play in enhancing health and recovery among patients with head and neck cancers.
Full text: Michał Ławiński, Natalia Ksepka, Michel E Mickael, Jarosław O Horbańczuk, Maciej Słodkowski, Atanas G Atanasov, Katarzyna Zadka, 2024, Predictive equations in determining resting energy expenditure in patients with head and neck cancer receiving home enteral nutrition, Nutrition, 131, 112636. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2024.112636