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Evidence summaries

Oral Calorie Supplements for Cystic Fibrosis

Oral calorie supplements might possibly not provide any additional benefit in the nutritional management of moderately malnourished children with cystic fibrosis compared to dietary advice and monitoring alone. Level of evidence: "D"

A Cochrane review [Abstract] 1 included 3 studies with a total of 131 subjects. There were no significant differences between people receiving supplements or dietary advice alone for change in weight, height, body mass index, z score or other indices of nutrition or growth. Changes in weight (kg) at three, six and twelve months respectively were: MD 0.32 (95% CI -0.09 to 0.72); MD 0.47 (95% CI -0.07 to 1.02 ); and MD 0.16 (-0.68 to 1.00). Total calorie intake was greater in people taking supplements at 12 months, MD 265.70 (95% CI 42.94 to 488.46). There were no significant differences between the groups for anthropometric measures of body composition, lung function, gastrointestinal adverse effects or activity levels.

Comment: The quality of evidence was downgraded by study limitations (unclear blinding) and by sparse data.

    References

    • Smyth RL, Rayner O. Oral calorie supplements for cystic fibrosis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2017;(5):CD000406. [PubMed]

Primary/Secondary Keywords