Adherence to the national institute of clinical excellence guidance on parenteral nutrition screening is not enough to improve outcomes

Summary Background & aim Majority of the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) nutrition guidance recommendations were based on Grade D evidence due to absence of randomised controlled trials. The aim was to assess outcomes of parenteral nutrition (PN) administration when the guidance was adhered to. Methods The prospective study included patients referred for PN. Patients were divided into two groups: guidance compliant and guidance non-compliant. Primary outcome measures were duration of PN treatment, number of PN bags used per patient, length of hospital stay and mortality. Results There were 262 patients, aged 54(42–67) [median (IQR)] years. The guidance compliant and the non-compliant groups consisted of 143 and 119 patients respectively. In the guidance compliant group all patients were screened on admission compared to 40% in the non-compliant group ( p