Prevalence of clinical complications in patients using enteral nutritional therapy under palliative care

Abstract

CORRÊA, Monique Eugenie Martins. Prevalence of clinical complications in patients using enteral nutritional therapy under palliative care. Course Conclusion Paper presented as a partial requirement for obtaining the title of Specialist, for the Postgraduate Program, Multiprofessional Residency in Palliative Care modality – School of Health Sciences, Brasília, 2020. Introduction: The introduction of enteral nutrition should lead always taking into account the professional's performance so that a futile treatment is not applied to the patient, consequently leading to discomfort. Objective: It was to analyze the prevalence of clinical complications caused in patients under palliative care using enteral nutritional therapy. Materials and methods: The research methodology was based on the observational paradigm and was a descriptive and observational study, in which the investigator measures but does not intervene. Data will be collected directly through the electronic medical records of hospitalized patients who arrive at the Support Hospital in palliative care units and who are using enteral nutritional therapy. There are advantages to using this method, in addition to being cheap, the investigator will be able to perform it according to the intended information and without forgetting to maintain the anonymity and confidentiality of individuals. Results and discussions: Most participants were using a nasoenteric tube (69.4%), had undergone a change in nutritional behavior (67.7%), especially a reduction in the volume of the diet (83.3%), due to complications such as abdominal distension (40.5%), reflux (26.2%) and dyspnea (21.4%). Conclusions: The use of enteral nutritional therapy in patients under palliative care will vary according to the course of the disease. Nutrition makes it possible, through the means and routes of food, to reduce the adverse effects caused by the progress of the disease, helping to control symptoms.