Abstract
This study is a systemic review of literature on the role of nutritional status in predicting quality of life outcomes in cancer. It addresses topic 4 of the NR449 skills module. Using article findings, this paper responds to study one question: “What associations exist between nutritional status and health outcomes?” This research determines the study’s quality and generalizability before applying it to evidence-based practice. Research literature suggests that liver disease is associated with poor nutrition for high-risk patients. The paper concludes by summarizing major aspects discussed in the paper and application of evidence in clinical practice.
Introduction
Patients with cancer are at more risk of malnutrition and lower metabolism. Lower nutritional status is associated with decreased quality of life (QoL) and health outcomes because of decreased dietary intake, nutrition impacts symptoms, sarcopenia and cancer cachexia. Nutritional status is a crucial determinant of survival and recovery of cancer patients. Improving quality of care in oncology is necessary given the evidence of nutritional risk and nutrition wasting. Interventions can increase quality of life by influencing body consumption and nutritional parameters. Improving how patients feel physically and emotionally can increase how patients carry out their daily duties effectively.
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Article Search
The article was published in the 2012 Nutrition Journal. It is sourced from a credible source in the BioMed Central database. The search items included “nutritional status”, “quality of life,” and “cancer.” Researchers sourced 676 articles from the search. Researchers excluded 641 articles because they did not meet the selection criteria for the topic (Lis et al., 2012). The remaining 35 articles were further reviewed (Lis et al., 2012). Thirteen failed to meet the topic’s requirements (Lis et al., 2012). Researchers identified four additional articles from the bibliographies of the final 35 articles, bringing the total to 26 articles.
Article Findings
The research addresses the topic by analyzing 26 studies involving 6 head and neck cancer patients, 8 gastrointestinal cancer patients, 1 lung cancer patient, 1 gynecologic and 10 heterogeneous cancer patients (Lis et al., 2012). The authors used EORTC OES-C30 combine with EuroQol EQ-5D to conduct a literature review from 26 articles to identify the correlation between nutritional status and QoL (Lis et al., 2012). Findings on nutritional assessment were based on weight loss in each patient. For lung cancer, weight stable patients experienced less fatigue and pain leading to better QoL (Lis et al., 2012). Studies on gynecological cancer indicated that BMI was negatively correlated with QoL. Patients with more weight experienced lower QoL. This article is appropriate for the topic because it addresses a variety of cancers and their effects on patient health outcomes.
Evidence for Practice
Evidence from the research suggests that malnutrition is a vital determinant of morbidity in cancer. Researchers found connections between weight loss and difficulty in swallowing (Lis et al., 2012). These patients experienced lower nutrition status because they were unable to feed through the mouth. Patients suffering more than 10% weight loss during diagnosis experienced lower QoL due to fatigue and pain (Lis et al., 2012). Poor health outcomes were associated with patients who experienced inflammatory responses in the gastrointestinal system. It increased energy depletion and turnover of amino acids leading to a shift from the body’s protein metabolism in peripheral cells to the liver (Lis et al., 2012). The study improves practice in understanding how feeding mechanisms shift during stage III and IV of cancer. It reduces gap to practice by providing necessary information to design mechanisms of alleviating lower nutrition status for cancer patients (Lis et al., 2012). The evidence is limited by the different nature of studies based on patient population, study design and sample size.
Sharing of Evidence
The information in this article would be essential for fellow nurses and oncology professionals, and dieticians. Staffs in these professions have more contact with cancer patients experiencing low nutritional status. Evidence in this article can be shared through email, online medical discussion websites, and social media platforms. It would also be appropriate to generate a pdf format of the summary. A workplace culture that facilitates effective communication would help in sharing evidence. Other resources include colleague support and access to large audiences. Nurses require high-quality nutrition education because they work in both hospital and community settings. Nurses are also in a better position to create awareness of nutrition status to the public.
Conclusion
Results obtained from the article suggest that weight is a reliable predictor of QoL because it is a common feature in advanced cancers. Induced pressure on the liver due to inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract interrupts food consumption leading to lower nutritional status. Weight loss above 5% could affect patient response towards radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments. Notably, evidence from the article suggests that tools such as PG-SGA could increase nutritional assessment for cancer patients. Nutritional status is a strong predictor of health outcomes in cancer patients. Interventions to enhance patient diet could substantially increase quality of life.
Reference
Lis, C., Gupta, D., Lammersfeld, C., Markman, M., & Vashi, P. (2012). Role of nutritional status in predicting quality of life outcomes in cancer – a systematic review of the epidemiological literature. Nutrition Journal , 11(27), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2891-11-27
