TABLE 4.
Reviews with AMSTAR score ≥8 reporting statistically significant benefits of oral nutritional supplements (ONSs) or no significant difference between groups for all outcomes from identified systematic reviews of ONS interventions in participants who were malnourished or at nutritional risk according to clinical background of included participants1
| Statistically significant difference between groups | No significant difference between groups | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outcome measure | Total number of meta-analyses | n | Subgroups in which effects reported | n | Subgroups in which effects reported |
| Clinical and functional | |||||
| Mortality | |||||
| Mixed clinical populations | 3 | 1 | Malnourished older people (>65 y) | 2 | People >65 y (mixed nutritional status), hospitalized adults at nutritional risk |
| Single clinical conditions | 8 | 1 | Geriatric patients | 7 | Hip fracture, stroke, liver disease, cancer, and perioperative patients |
| Total complications | |||||
| Mixed clinical populations | 1 | 1 | People >65 y (mixed nutritional status) | 0 | |
| Single clinical conditions | 4 | 2 | Perioperative patients, hip fracture | 2 | Hip fracture, preoperative (GI surgery) |
| Infectious complications | |||||
| Mixed clinical populations | 0 | — | — | 0 | |
| Single clinical conditions | 8 | 3 | Perioperative patients, chronic liver disease | 5 | Hip fracture, geriatrics, post liver transplant, preoperative (GI surgery) |
| Pressure ulcers | |||||
| Mixed clinical populations | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | Hip fracture |
| Single clinical conditions | 2 | 1 | Stroke | 1 | Mixed clinical backgrounds |
| Muscle strength | |||||
| Mixed clinical populations | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | People >65 y (mixed nutritional status) |
| Single clinical conditions | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | |
| Healthcare-related | |||||
| Length of stay | |||||
| Mixed clinical populations | 5 | 0 | — | 5 | People (>65 y) with geriatric conditions, hip fracture, stroke, hospitalized patients, malnourished or patients at nutritional risk |
| Single clinical conditions | 4 | 1 | Perioperative patients | 3 | Stroke, chronic liver disease, preoperative (GI surgery) |
| Readmissions | |||||
| Mixed clinical populations | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — |
| Single clinical conditions | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | Post liver transplant |
| Nutritional | |||||
| Energy intake | |||||
| Mixed clinical populations | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — |
| Single clinical conditions | 1 | 1 | Stroke | 0 | — |
| Protein intake | |||||
| Mixed clinical populations | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — |
| Single clinical conditions | 1 | 1 | Stroke | 0 | — |
| Body weight | |||||
| Mixed clinical populations | 1 | 1 | People >65 y (mixed nutritional status) | 0 | |
| Single clinical conditions | 1 | 1 | COPD | 0 | — |
| Body composition/nutritional status | |||||
| Mixed clinical populations | |||||
| Mid-arm muscle circumference | 1 | 1 | People >65 y (mixed nutritional status) | — | |
| Single clinical conditions | — | COPD | |||
| Mid-arm muscle circumference | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | Stroke, liver disease |
| Serum albumin | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | |
1
AMSTAR, Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews measurement tool; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; GI, gastrointestinal.