The reorganisation of nutritional assessment and care in a hospital that became a COVID centre during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

In the early months of 2020, Europe was confronted by a pandemic that originated in China, which initially affected its territories in different ways. Parts of northern Italy were among the regions most affected. At the same time, Ticino, a small canton of Switzerland geographically wedged into Italian territory, had an incidence rate comparable to that of hard-hit Lombardy. Home to 350,000 inhabitants and separated from the rest of Switzerland by the Alps, Ticino had to face the first part of the pandemic with little available knowledge. The cantonal authorities decided to transform two active hospitals into COVID centres, concentrating all coronavirus patients there. Since the virus was new and there were no clear guidelines for managing it, the nutritional team on site had to reorganise to provide patient care, adapting their strategy to accommodate the evolution of the pandemic and growing medical knowledge. This paper explains how one of these teams developed a model to deal with the first wave of COVID, maintaining it during the second and current third wave of the pandemic.

COVID-19: Lessons on malnutrition, nutritional care and public health from the ESPEN-WHO Europe call for papers

“…Simplified organization of nutrition protocols for ICU healthcare providers to COVID-19 patient has been proposed and implemented [122], with higher adherence to nutritional targets reported in a subsequent study in the same setting [127]. Reports on re-organizations of nutrition support activities, and the specific role of different professional components of the nutritional team have been also provided [128]. Limited or no patient contact has been also addressed both in the hospital and home care settings.…”

Online nutritional counseling and assessment

“…The obesity epidemic is a critical health challenge worldwide since the number of people with obesity has tripled in the last 40 years (WHO, 2020). In this sense, another current challenge for improving people's quality of life lies in finding the most effective way to change the obesogenic environment that surrounds us, as well as raising awareness and guiding the population to make healthier decisions regarding nutrition and physical activity (Turri Quarenghi et al, 2021).…”

“…Over the generations, nutritional counseling and assessment have been primarily faceto-face, in clinics, hospitals, or doctors' offices; however, the COVID-19 pandemic brought global instability in multiple spheres, and the health sector had to reorganize and create strategies according to each country's demands to provide care to the population (Turri Quarenghi et al, 2021). In parallel, it has been strongly recognized that interaction through virtual media is a resource that has allowed us to continue advancing and meeting the population's needs.…”