Oral Nutritional Supplements and Taste Adherence in Malnourished Adults Inpatients, Effect on Adhesion during Hospital Stance

Aim: The aim of our study was to evaluate a hypercaloric sweet milk-based oral nutrition supplement in a prospective 3-day study designed to assess the taste preferences of this oral nutritional supplement (ONS) in malnourished inpatients and the influence on adherence in daily intake. Methods: A total of 46 in patients with recent weight loss were included in this study. One flavor (chocolate, vanilla or strawberry) was administered each day in a random way to each patient during 3 consecutive days. In the first 3 days, patients were asked to fill 2 questionnaires intended for reflecting ONS tolerance and acceptance. Results: Sweet was better for chocolate flavor (3.9 +/- 2.4 points) than for vanilla flavor (2.7 +/- 2.3 points; p < 0.02) and strawberry flavor (3.1 +/- 2.3 points; p < 0.01). Chocolate flavored ONSs were rated as having more aftertaste (3.4 +/- 2.1 points) than vanilla (2.4 +/- 2.1 points; p < 0.01) and strawberry (2.6 +/- 1.5 points; p < 0.03). Patients who chose chocolate took a total of 20.7 +/- 20.9 average bricks during hospitalization (1.95 +/- 0.2 per day), patients who chose vanilla took 18.6 +/- 21.0 bricks (1.90 +/- 0.7 per day) and finally patients who chose strawberry took 14.5 +/- 13.5 bricks during admission (1.78 +/- 0.1 per day; p < 0.01). Conclusions: The taste preferences of all the ONSs are similar although the consumption is high in chocolate flavored ONS during hospitalization. Sweetness may have influenced this finding. (C) 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel