Table 2.
Patient characteristics at baseline.
| N = | Global | Control | Intervention | p-Value 4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median age (min–max) | 146 | 79.6 (55.5–92.8) | 79.2 (55.5–89.2) | 80.5 (70–92.8) | 0.1738 * | |
| Female (%) | 147 | 73 (49.7) | 39 (53.4) | 34 (45.9) | 0.3645 | |
| Laboratory results | Median hemoglobin (g/L) | 137 | 11.8 (7–40) | 11.5 (7–40) | 12 (7.2–16.1) | 0.6935 * |
| Median albumin (g/L) (min–max) | 115 | 37 (21–48.2) | 38 (22–44) | 36.9 (21–48.2) | 0.7274 * | |
| Median pre-albumin (g/L) (min–max) | 98 | 0.23 (0.05–3) | 0.24 (0.11–1.9) | 0.22 (0.05–3) | 0.6608 * | |
| Median CRP (g/L) | 94 | 5.4 (0.4–212) | 6.05 (1.1–119) | 5.4 (0.4–212) | 0.4457 * | |
| Median BMI (Kg/m2) (min–max) | 146 | 24.7 (15.8–39.3) | 25.3 (17.9–39.3) | 24.1 (15.8–38.9) | 0.0927 | |
| Patients with weight loss (%) | 134 | 76 (56.7) | 30 (49.2) | 46 (63) | 0.1075 | |
| Median % weight loss over 6 months (min–max) | 50 | 6.58 (2.06–23.33) | 6.56 (2.27–23.33) | 6.8 (2.06–20.51) | 0.7769 * | |
| Moderate to severe undernutrition (%) | 99 | 61 (61.6) | 28 (82.4) | 33 (50.8) | 0.0022 | |
| Cachexia (%) | 106 | 6 (5.7) | 1 (2.4) | 5 (7.7) | 0.4016 | |
| Anorexia (%) | 93 | 11 (11.8) | 5 (21.7) | 6 (8.6) | 0.1321 * | |
| Median MNA (min–max) 1 | 59 | 21.5 (4–26) | 21.5 (16–25) | 21.8 (4–26) | 0.6138 * | |
| Median CIRS-G comorbidity score (min–max) | 92 | 6 (0–19) | 6 (1–15) | 6 (0-19) | 0.8754 * | |
| Number of medications (%) | >6 | 136 | 30 (22.1) | 18 (29) | 12 (16.2) | 0.1248 |
| 3–6 | 73 (53.7) | 28 (45.2) | 45 (60.8) | |||
| <3 | 73 (53.7) | 28 (45.2) | 45 (60.8) | |||
| Mean fatigue score (SD) | 75 | 6.3 (2.1) | 6.3 (2.2) | 6.3(2.1) | 0.7536 * | |
| Mean handgrip strength (SD) 2 | 65 | 24.3 (11.4) | 21.3 (5.5) | 24.5 (11.6) | 0.6472 | |
| Mean SPPB score (SD) 3 | 75 | 8.12 (2.87) | 7.17 (2.71) | 8.2 (2.89) | 0.3061 * | |
| Median duration of hospitalization (min–max) | 142 | 10.5 (1–94) | 12 (4–94) | 9 (1–70) | 0.0220 * | |
BMI: body mass index; CRP: C-reactive protein; CIRS-G: Geriatric Cumulative Illness Rating Scale; MNA: Mini Nutritional Assessment; SPPB: Short Physical Performance Battery; SD: standard deviation. 1 Only five measures in control condition; 2 only three measures in control condition; 3 only six measures in control condition; 4 Categorical variables: chi-squared test or Fisher’s exact test (*); continuous variables: Student’s t-test or the Wilcoxon test (*).