Compleat® Organic Blends formulas, which contain blenderized whole foods, are associated with improved GI tolerance as compared to Kate Farms®* Standard formulas, which do not contain blenderized whole foods.
Compleat® Organic Blends formulas are associated with fewer GI intolerance symptoms compared to Kate Farms® Standard formulas:
- Less nausea and vomiting
- Reduced abdominal pain
- Less diarrhea
- Reduced flatulence
*Kate Farms® is a trademark of Kate Farms Inc
Clinical Benefits of Real Food Tube Feeding Formulas Compared to Plant-Based Standard Tube Feeding Formulas in Post-Acute Care Adult Patients
Henrikson A1, Desai A2, Allen F1, Yeddula S3, Araujo Torres K1.
J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2023;47(S2):S102.
1Medical Affairs, Nestlé Health Science; 2Market Access, Nestlé Health Science; 3Clarivate Data Analytics & Insights
Objective
Describe patient characteristics and clinical outcomes among adult patients in post-acute care who received a commercially blenderized tube feeding (CBTF) formula made with a variety of whole foods compared to patients who received a plant-based standard tube feeding (STD-TF) without blenderized foods.
Methods
A retrospective, observational study was conducted using nationally representative US claims data obtained from the Decision Resources Group Real World Evidence Data Repository, covering 98% of US health plans, including medical and pharmacy claims. Patient characteristics, medications, GI intolerance symptoms, health care resource utilization, and costs were assessed retrospectively in adults receiving a CBTF formula (Compleat® Organic Blends, Nestlé HealthCare Nutrition, US) or plant-based STD-TF formula (Kate Farms® Standard 1.0 and 1.4, Kate Farms, Inc., US) as sole-source nutrition for ≥7 days in post-acute care between Jan 2018 and Dec 2020. The index date was defined as date of hospital discharge. Outcomes were measured in the post-index period based on the last record in the study period at 84 days post-discharge. GI intolerance symptoms were compared between CBTF and plant-based STD-TF group at 84-days post-index using chi-square test.
Results
No significant difference in concomitant medications use was observed for central nervous system agents, GI drugs (anti-diarrheals, anti-emetics, laxatives, and others) and anti-infective agents between groups.
Significantly fewer patients experienced GI intolerance symptoms at 84-days post-discharge while receiving the CBTF formula (29%) compared to the plant-based STD-TF (49%) (p<0.001). This difference in GI intolerance for CBTF was maintained for intolerance symptoms including nausea and vomiting (p<0.001), diarrhea (p=0.002), abdominal pain (p<0.001), and flatulence (p=0.037) at 84-days post-discharge. Significantly more patients experienced three or more GI intolerance symptoms among the plant-based STD-TF group (25%) compared to CBTF group (8%) (p=0.002).
CBTF | STD-TF | p-value† | |
|---|---|---|---|
Any intolerance symptoms | 36 (29%) | 158 (49%) | <0.001 |
2 intolerance symptoms | 9 (25%) | 46 (29%) | 0.045 |
3+ intolerance symptoms | 3 (8%) | 39 (25%) | 0.002 |
Nausea & vomiting | 11 (9%) | 76 (23%) | <0.001 |
Abdominal pain | 10 (8%) | 76 (23%) | <0.001 |
Diarrhea | 2 (2%) | 33 (10%) | 0.002 |
Flatulence | 2 (2%) | 21 (6%) | 0.037 |
Abbreviations: CBTF, commercial blenderized tube feeding; STD-TF, plant-based standard tube feeding
†chi-square test, alpha=0.05 level of significance
The use of a commercially blenderized tube feeding formula with a variety of foods was well tolerated in adult post-acute care patients. Significant reductions in GI intolerance symptoms were observed among patients receiving a commercially blenderized tube feeding formula compared to a plant-based standard tube feeding formula, demonstrating clinical benefits in post-acute care patients.