Hydration status of cancer patients with palliative care: hydrated or dehydrated?

• TITLE: Hydration status of cancer patients with palliative care: hydrated or dehydrated?
• AUTHOR: Valero-Pérez M, Morato-Martínez M, Palma-Milla S, López-Plaza B, Bermejo-López L, Gómez-Candela C.
• REFERENCE: Nutr Hosp. 2015 Dec 1;32(s02):10390.
• YEAR: 2015

Introduction: the relationship between thirst and dehydration in terminal patients at end of life is limited and the current bibliography agree with this controversy.
Due to the lacking of scientific evidences the decision to rehydrate of these patients is based on the usual clinical practice.

Objectives: to evaluate the hydration status of oncologicalpatients with palliative care by Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA).
Method: this scientific initiative will evaluate the hydration status of 50 oncological patients admitted with palliative care at University Hospital La Paz by BIA, excluding those who according with their Palliative-Pronostic-Score (PaP-Score) get a 30-day survival probability <30%. It is a descriptive, observational and cross-sectional study. The main variable will be the phase angle and as secondary variables: evaluation of the nutritional status by Subjective-Global-Assessment (SGA), corporal composition (BIA) and functional capability (dynamometry). Besides it will evaluate: PaP-Score, Palliative-Performance-Scale (PPS), disability (Barthel-Test), cognitive function (Pfeffer-Test), dehydration symptoms and biochemical parameters.

Results: preliminary results of statistical analysis will be exposed once they achieve the estimated sample size (confidence level 95%, differences’ average 0.610, DS 2,200).
Conclusions: the study of the oncological with palliative care patient’s hydration status provides scientific evidence to implementation of action protocols to properly rehydrate those patients.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26615323