Nutritional and Educational Intervention to Recover a Healthy Eating Pattern Reducing Clinical Ileostomy-Related Complications

The aim of this study was to evaluate a diet intervention implemented by our hospital in order to determinate its capacity to improve the eating pattern of patients with an ileostomy, facilitating the implementation new eating-related behaviors, reducing doubt and dissatisfaction and other complications. The study was conducted with a quasi-experimental design in a tertiary level hospital. The elaboration and implementation of a nutritional intervention consisting of a Mediterranean-diet-based set of menus duly modified that was reinforced by specific counseling at the reintroduction of oral diet, hospital discharge and first follow-up appointment. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed. The protocol was approved by the competent Ethics Committee. The patients of the intervention group considered that the diet facilitated eating five or more meals a day and diminished doubt and concerns related to eating pattern. Most patients (86%) had a favorable experience regarding weight recovery and a significant reduction of all-cause readmissions and readmission with dehydration (p = 0.015 and p < 0.001, respectively). The intervention helped an effective self-management of eating pattern by patients who had a physical improvement related to hydration status, which, together with an improvement in weight regain, decreased the probability of readmissions.