Effectiveness of Nutritional Support on Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Hepatitis C Virus

Abstract

Background: Globally, acute and chronic liver disease is primarily brought on by the hepatitis C virus. Consequently, it is crucial that HCV patients try to maintain a balanced diet with enough daily calories, protein, carbohydrate, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water. As liver disease advances, eating healthy can become more difficult. Aimed: to examine how well dietary supplementation affects the clinical outcomes of hepatitis C patients. Research design: A quasi-experimental research design was used. Subjects: In accordance with the inclusion criteria, a sample of 120 adult patients was chosen, randomly divided into two equal groups, and evaluated over the course of three visits with 60 patients in each group. According to the doctor's orders, study group (I) received dietary supplementation. Hospital food was served to the control group (II). Setting: The study was conducted in the clinic of Liver Disease at Ain Shams university hospital. Tools of the study: For gathering data, two tools were used. A nutritional assessment of patients with the hepatitis C virus and the clinical result of those patients were the first and second tools, respectively. Results: In comparison to the baseline, the results show a significant decrease in daily calorie intake one month after receiving instructions (P=0.000*) and three months after receiving instructions (P=0.000*). The incidence and severity of the problems and the nutritional support provided to the study patients in relation to daily dietary intake had a positive correlation. Conclusion: Child Pugh Scale scores were higher in the study group than in the control group at the beginning, one month, and three months after beginning the diet. The occurrence and severity of problems in the analysed patients are positively impacted by the nutritional support. Recommendations: Diet for patients with hepatitis C should be prescribed individually based on total caloric requirement. Manual guidelines about allowed nutritional support of patients with hepatitis C should be available to every nurse caring for patients in liver disease unit.