HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Paton, N. I Articles by Chee, C. B. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Paton, N. I Articles by Chee, C. B. Agricola Articles by Paton, N. I Articles by Chee, C. B.

Randomized controlled trial of nutritional supplementation in patients with newly diagnosed tuberculosis and wasting^1,2,3

¹ From the Department of Infectious Diseases (NIP and Y-KC), the Clinical Research Unit (AE), and the Tuberculosis Control Unit, Department of Respiratory Medicine (CBEC), Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore

Background: Nutritional support is often recommended as part of the treatment of tuberculosis, but it has never been properly tested.

Objective: We assessed the effects of early nutritional intervention on lean mass and physical function in patients with tuberculosis and wasting.

Design: Patients who started antituberculous therapy within the previous 2 wk were randomly assigned to receive standard nutritional counseling (control group) or nutritional counseling to increase their intake through diet and high-energy supplements (nutritional supplement group) for 6 wk. Body composition was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and physical function was assessed by maximum grip strength.

Results: Patients in the nutritional supplement group (n = 19) had a significantly greater increase in body weight (2.57 ± 1.78 compared with 0.84 ± 0.89 kg, P = 0.001), total lean mass (1.17 ± 0.93 compared with 0.04 ± 1.26 kg, P = 0.006), and grip strength (2.79 ± 3.11 compared with –0.65 ± 4.48 kg, P = 0.016) than did the control subjects (n = 17) at week 6. During subsequent follow-up, the increase in body weight remained greater in the nutritional supplement group, but this increase was due mainly to a greater gain in fat mass in the nutritional supplement group than in the control group.

Conclusions: Early intervention to increase nutritional intake increases lean mass and physical function. This adjunct to tuberculosis therapy could confer socioeconomic and survival benefits that deserve investigation in large-scale trials. Nutritional intervention after the initial phase of treatment could be less beneficial because it mainly increases fat.

Key Words: Tuberculosis • wasting • nutritional supplements • body composition • physical function

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M K. Libbus Review: insufficient evidence exists for oral nutritional supplements as aids for recovery in treated active tuberculosis Evid. Based Nurs., July 1, 2009; 12(3): 75 - 75. [Full Text] [PDF]

				W. W. Yew and C. C. Leung Prognostic significance of early weight gain in underweight patients with tuberculosis. Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., August 1, 2006; 174(3): 236 - 237. [Full Text] [PDF]