Introduction:

Before 2010, prescribed home enteral nutrition (HEN) in Murcia was characterized by the great variability of the receptor patients, in addition to a higher use compared with other geographical areas.

Objectives:

Developing and describing a clinical pathway for attending candidates for HEN, and analyzing their profile and prescription characteristics.

Methods:

Establishment of a clinical pathway for HEN prescription. Bidirectional observational study of the samples of HEN in a specific area (Health Area I of the Region of Murcia) during 2010 (HEN1) and 2013-14 (HEN2).

Results:

An official management statement was established, generalizing the clinical pathway for the rest of the regional areas (Instruction no. 4/2012 of July 12th). Although most prevalent diseases in both samples were neurological, followed, with a wide spread, by oncological and digestive cases, there was a significant difference regarding distribution. The HEN1 sample showed a great number of no candidate patients according to the management statement. In both samples, the most prevalent route of administration was oral, but with a trend reversal to feeding tube and gastrostomy in HEN2, where the specific formulas were also reduced.

Conclusions:

The profile of HEN, before and after the deployment of the clinical pathway, changes significantly concerning the main disease, the route of administration and the formula. It has been proved that there is a need for controlling HEN for an appropriate prescription.

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