Published May 12, 2014

Deerfield, IL, USA - Patients with dysfunctional gastrointestinal tracts receive parenteral nutrition (PN) to help meet their nutrition requirements. Parenteral nutrition may be administered through a variety of techniques including premixed or pharmacy compounded solutions. The decision about PN delivery choice can be complex and there are no specific guidelines advising an optimal method. Researchers at Baxter Healthcare Corporation and Premier Research Services sought to build on published evidence through a retrospective analysis of Premier’s Hospital Database by comparing outcomes in critically ill adult patients receiving premixed versus compounded PN. Specifically, they compared patients’ total health care costs, length of hospital stay, infectious complications, and hospital readmission rates. After adjusting for confounding variables, they found patients receiving premixed PN incurred nine percent less in total costs, 2.6 percent fewer days in the hospital, and no significant differences for infectious complications or 30-day readmission. This study aimed to provide a more comprehensive PN economic analysis than previous evaluations. The researchers noted that, excluding overall costs, patients experienced similar outcomes irrespective of the PN preparation delivery chosen, therefore, future studies need to further explore cost drivers. Study lead, Gary Zaloga, MD, Senior Medical Director at Baxter, states, “Given this information, clinicians should continue to focus on best practices that will lead to improve patient outcomes and a reduction in financial burden.” The full study, “A Retrospective, Observational Study of Patient Outcomes for Critically Ill Patients Receiving Parenteral Nutrition,” is published in Value in Health.

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