Is the Use of Specialized Nutritional Formulations a Cost-Effective Strategy?
Adrien Strickland, MD, Anita Brogan, PhD, Janis Krauss, RN, Robert Martindale, MD, PhD and Gail Cresci, MS, RD/LD, CNSD From the Department of Surgery, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia Correspondence: Adrien Strickland, MD, 1120 15th Street, BI-4072, Augusta, GA 30912. Electronic mail may be sent to astricklandmd{at}students.mcg.edu’ + u + ‘@’ + d + ”//–>. Background: We apply currently published clinical outcomes data to length of stay and hospital cost to determine the potential economic benefit associated with the use of specialized nutritional formulations in elective surgical, trauma, and medical patients. Although the use of immune-modulating formulations has repeatedly shown favorable clinical outcomes, including decreased complications (both infectious and noninfectious), length of stay (both ICU and total days), and ventilator days, the cost-effectiveness of nutritional modulation of the immune response in a US-based population has not previously been explored. M
