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Review
. 2020 Oct 22;12(11):3230.
doi: 10.3390/nu12113230.

A Review of Nutrition Support Guidelines for Individuals with or Recovering from COVID-19 in the Community

Abbie L Cawood  1 , Emily R Walters  2 , Trevor R Smith  3 , Rachel H Sipaul  4 , Rebecca J Stratton  1
Affiliations
Review

A Review of Nutrition Support Guidelines for Individuals with or Recovering from COVID-19 in the Community

Abbie L Cawood et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

COVID-19 negatively impacts nutritional status and as such identification of nutritional risk and consideration of the need for nutrition support should be fundamental in this patient group. In recent months, clinical nutrition professional organisations across the world have published nutrition support recommendations for health care professionals. This review summarises key themes of those publications linked to nutrition support of adults with or recovering from COVID-19 outside of hospital. Using our search criteria, 15 publications were identified from electronic databases and websites of clinical nutrition professional organisations, worldwide up to 19th June 2020. The key themes across these publications included the importance in the community setting of: (i) screening for malnutrition, which can be achieved by remote consultation; (ii) care plans with appropriate nutrition support, which may include food based strategies, oral nutritional supplements and referral to a dietitian; (iii) continuity of nutritional care between settings including rapid communication at discharge of malnutrition risk and requirements for ongoing nutrition support. These themes, and indeed the importance of nutritional care, are fundamental and should be integrated into pathways for the rehabilitation of patients recovering from COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; community; malnutrition; nutrition support; recovery; rehabilitation.

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Conflict of interest statement

T.R.S. declares no conflict of interest. E.R.W. is a voluntary member of the Department of Health Advisory Board for Borderline Substances, Director of the British Dietetic Association, and Director of Bright Nutrition Ltd. R.H.S. is a freelance dietitian who has received funding from Danone. A.L.C. and R.J.S., both of whom hold honorary research posts with the University of Southampton, are also employed part time by Danone Specialised Nutrition.

References

    1. Managing Adult Malnutrition A Community Healthcare Professional Guide to the Nutritional Management of Patients during and after COVID-19 Illness. [(accessed on 19 June 2020)]; Available online: https://www.malnutritionpathway.co.uk/covid19-community-hcp.
    1. Barazzoni R., Bischoff S.C., Breda J., Wickramasinghe K., Krznaric Z., Nitzan D., Pirlich M., Singer P. ESPEN expert statements and practical guidance for nutritional management of individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Clin. Nutr. (Edinb. Scotl.) 2020;39:1631–1638. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2020.03.022. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. British Dietetic Association: Critical Care Specialist Group Guidance on Management of Nutrition and Dietetic Services during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Version 2. [(accessed on 11 May 2020)]; Available online: https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/critical-care-dietetics-guidance-covid-1....
    1. World Health Organisation Clinical Management of COVID-19. Interim Guidance. [(accessed on 27 May 2020)]; Available online: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/clinical-management-of-covid-19.
    1. British Dietetic Association: Optimising Nutrition Prescribing Specialist Group Community Guidance-MDT. [(accessed on 15 June 2020)]; Available online: https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/nutritional-guidance-for-primary-care-te....

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