Nutricia supports independent research to improve the recovery of COVID-19 patients

Nutricia is providing funding of €1 million to support clinician-led research initiatives in 16 countries, aiming to improve nutritional care for patients leaving hospital after severe COVID-19 infection

Watch Dr. Cereda’s personal reflection on working with COVID-19 patients, the role of nutrition and the need for more research. Dr. Cereda works at one of the healthcare institutions granted funding by Nutricia to do independent research on the nutritional management in the recovery journey of COVID-19 patients.

Effective management of patient rehabilitation after discharge from hospital

The coronavirus outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on 11 March 2020. In the months since, the symptoms, characteristics and treatment options of COVID-19 infection have become better understood by the medical community. However, more investigation is needed into the effective management of patient rehabilitation after discharge from hospital, particularly for those patients who have endured prolonged hospital/ICU stays due to severe infection. 

Although medical nutrition has been shown to positively contribute to improved clinical outcomes^1,2, better quality of life^1,2 and earlier hospital discharge² in a variety of diseases and conditions, it is not always recognized to be an integral part of the package of care patients receive. Indeed, only 1 out of 3 hospital patients receive the nutritional care that they need³. This issue has become even more important to address in the current pandemic as COVID-19 is associated with nutritional risk⁴ due to extended ICU stays. These patients in particular are known to potentially face a range of physical and emotional issues⁵ that can further hamper their ability to get the nutrition they need to make a more complete recovery.

The need for real-world evidence

ESPEN (European Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition) issued practical guidance to support the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of malnutrition in patients with COVID-19 infection⁶. This highlights the need to ensure continuity of nutritional management of malnourished patients after hospital discharge, with individualized nutritional plans and oral nutritional support (ONS) when indicated⁶. Today, nutritional management is based on existing knowledge regarding malnutrition; however, real-world evidence for patients with COVID-19 remains unavailable to date. 

Nutricia launches NutriCOVer program to support independent research and nutritional guidance for COVID-19 patient recovery

The NutriCOVer program launched by Nutricia aims to advance knowledge and practice in COVID-19 patient recovery via an umbrella funding program. The program allocates €1m to independent, investigator-led studies focusing on nutritional needs and management of malnutrition after hospital discharge and during recovery from severe COVID 19 infection. Through the program we aim to improve knowledge on nutritional needs, explore the benefit of nutritional interventions, and support best practice and development of evidence-base for clinical guidance and nutritional pathways for this vulnerable patient group.

Additionally, the NutriCOVer program, involving 16 countries, will provide a framework for a network of investigators leading individual initiatives, for example by hosting events to present research and discuss learnings and data, the first of which are expected this autumn.