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Introduction: Adequate nutrition is essential for the well-being of hospitalized patients. Assessing nutritional adequacy significantly affects patient-centered care. The nutritionDay (nDay) project, supported by ESPEN, conducts a global audit to evaluate nutritional risks. Imam Reza Teaching Hospital in Mashhad is one of the participating hospitals. This study examined the trend of nutritional adequacy in Imam Reza Teaching Hospital from nDay 2019 to 2021. Method: This cross-sectional study analyzed data collected from the nDay database of Imam Reza Teaching Hospital in Mashhad, Iran, between 2019 and 2021. Written consent was obtained, and the study followed international standards and the nDay questionnaire. Factors such as nutritional routs, energy goals, and energy intake were considered. All statistical analyses were performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 19.0. The three-year trend of nutritional adequacy was compared using the Chi-Square test. Result: A total of 414 patients from 14 departments of Imam Reza Hospital were included in the study during 2019-2021. There was no significant trend of energy goal among the wards during 2019-2021, except in women's burn, orthopedic surgery, and general surgery wards (P<0.001, <0.001, <0.001, respectively). There was a significant variation in energy intake during 2019-2021 in men's burn, oncology, cardiac surgery, gynecology surgery, and general surgery wards (P<0.001, <0.001, <0.001, <0.001, <0.001, respectively). Conclusion: This study showed that burn and oncology patients did not achieve their energy goals, indicating the importance of nutritional care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Cinnamon is extracted from the inner bark of Cinnamomum trees. Recent studies have indicated that cinnamon is a safe and cost-effective treatment for improving body weight, lipid profiles, insulin resistance, and blood pressure. This systematic review aimed to summarize the effect of cinnamon supplementation on adipokines and appetite-regulating hormones. Materials and Methods: This comprehensive literature search was conducted using databases such as PubMed, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, and Google Scholar up to March 2022 without any limitation. The quality of eligible studies was evaluated through the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool for assessing the risk of bias. Results: This systematic review included six clinical trial studies (363 participants), among which, only one study was performed on children, and two investigations were conducted on obese participants. A decreasing effect was found in the level of leptin and visfatin after cinnamon supplementation. Two out of three studies examined adiponectin levels and revealed non-significant effects of cinnamon consumption on this parameter. Two studies evaluated ghrelin levels and found an increase after cinnamon supplementation. The result of cinnamon supplementation on other biomarkers such as glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide, glucagon-like peptide 1, and resistin was inconsistent. Conclusion: The result of this systematic review indicated the increasing effect of cinnamon supplementation on ghrelin levels and decreasing effect on leptin and visfatin levels. However, more clinical data are required to clarify the beneficial effects of cinnamon on adipokines levels due to the controversial findings of the studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Understanding food waste is essential to reduce environmental impact and financial burden and ensuring food security in hospital settings. Research on hospital food waste in Iran, especially in Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs), has been limited despite the importance of reducing food waste. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the amount of food waste in the Akbar Children’s Hospital PICUs department. The findings of these studies can provide evidence to improve food management in hospital settings. Method: The rate of food waste among patients admitted to the Akbar Hospital’s PICUs was measured in this cross-sectional study. Food waste was measured by calculating the difference between the total food delivered to the patient and the total food they consumed. Patients or their parents provided information about the proportion of hospital food intake within the past 24 hours. Result: Of the 140 patients in the initial sample, 21 received hospital food during the study. The average food waste for the one-week study period was 53.57%, indicating that 90.5% of patients caused varying degrees of food waste, with only 9.5% consuming the entire amount of hospital food they received. No significant association was found between patients’ age or gender and food waste. Conclusion: The results suggested a significant amount of food waste in the hospital setting that needs to be addressed to improve patient nutrition and reduce costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: We launched this study to compare subjective global assessment (SGA) and nutrition risk index (NRI) as malnutrition screening tools for nurses to use in the care of End-stage Liver Disease (ESLD) patients. Methods: This pilot study was conducted on liver transplant patients in two hospitals in Iran from May to September 2021. Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of NRI were evaluated compared with SGA in ESLD patients. Results: Sixty-five cirrhotic patients were assessed. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values for NRI in detecting malnutrition based on SGA were 97.67%, 31.82%, 77.68%, and 87.5%, respectively. However, the agreement between NRI and SGA was low (k=0.349). Changing the NRI cut-off value to 83.7 could yield acceptable sensitivity (72.7%) and specificity (58.1%). Conclusion: NRI can be used as a screening tool in ESLD patients, but a different cut-off might be required to improve its validity against SGA in ESLD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Contaminated blenderised tube feeding (BTF) causes numerous infections in patients with deficient immune systems. The microbial quality of BTF should be thoroughly monitored to reduce the risks of microbial agents and prevent food safety problems such as food poisoning and food‐borne illnesses. The aim of this study was to survey the contamination rate of BTF samples prepared in the teaching hospitals in Mashhad, Iran. Methods: This study was conducted on 24 samples of BTF prepared in four teaching hospitals in Mashhad city; the samples were collected randomly. Then specific culture media were used for detected and counted Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium perfringens, Bacillus cereus, coliforms and Escherichia coli. The final confirmation of the isolates was performed using polymerase chain reaction. Results: The total bacterial count was determined in the BTF samples and compared with the Food and Drug Administration medical food standards; 91.6% of the samples had 5.2 ± 0.1 log CFU/ml microbial bacterial contamination considering the standard range. The mean prevalence of contamination in these samples was measured for coliforms 4.9 ± 0.17 log CFU/ml, B. cereus 3.6 ± 0.16 log CFU/ml, S. aureus 3.7 ± 0.15 log CFU/ml and C. perfringens 4.7 ± 0.08 log CFU/ml (p < 0.05). Moreover, E. coli 11 (45.8%), Salmonella spp. 9 (37.5%) and L. monocytogenes 17 (70.8%) samples were detected. Conclusion: Given the high consumption of BTF and the transmission of food contamination to hospitalised patients, it is essential to improve the hygienic conditions at the site of BTF preparation to prevent re‐contamination. Key points: Blenderised tube feeding samples were analysed for important food‐borne pathogens, including coliforms, Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp. and Clostridium perfringens.All the tested samples (100%) were contaminated with bacterial agents.Microbial analysis showed that 91.6% of the samples had a total viable count beyond the standard limit (<104 CFU/ml). It is recommended to use good hygiene and good manufacturing practices to prepare and produce handmade formulas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of nutrition-related complaints and malnutrition among liver transplant candidates in Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in two hospitals in Iran from May to October 2021. The nutritional status of patients was evaluated by subjective global assessment (SGA), and the food intake of patients was assessed by a 3-day food record. In addition, anthropometric indices, including weight and body mass index (BMI), were measured. Results: A total of 43 patients were evaluated. Men accounted for 58% of patients, and mean BMI and age were 24.5±5 kg/m², and 48±14 years, respectively. The total prevalence of malnutrition before liver transplantation was 83.7%. Nausea in patients with malnutrition was significantly higher (P<0.05). Low Energy intake was observed in 90.7%, while low protein intake was reported in 69.8% of patients before liver transplantation. Conclusion: Malnutrition, low-calorie, and low protein intake were prevalent among patients before liver transplantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ramadan fasting for Muslims means abstinence from eating, drinking, and smoking from sunrise to sunset. There are concerns whether the occurrence of renal colic increases during the month of Ramadan. In view of the importance of fasting among Muslims, the occurrence of renal colic during Ramadan fasting has been compared during the following periods: two weeks before commencement of Ramadan (stage-1), during the first two weeks (stage-2), the last two weeks (stage-3), and, two weeks after Ramadan (stage-4). This was a prospective observational study, which was carried out in patients with symptoms of renal colic who were referred to the emergency wards in two major hospitals in Iran. During the study period, 610 subjects were admitted with renal colic during the four periods of study; there were 441 males (72.3%) and 169 females (27.7%). The number of patients with renal colic was highest during the first two weeks of Ramadan in comparison with the other periods (stage-1: 157, stage-2: 195, stage-3: 139, stage-4: 119, P < 0.05]. Results from this study show that the number of admissions due to renal colic was high during the first two weeks of Ramadan. However, the number of admissions decreased during the last two weeks of Ramadan and this trend continued after Ramadan.

Introduction: Most Ramadan fasting studies are usually conducted over one-year periods and show the short-term effects of Ramadan fasting. There is no standard tool or questionnaire to evaluate people's fasting habits and Ramadan fasting long term effects. For the first time, we designed a study to develop and validate a questionnaire to evaluate people's fasting habits as a tool for the determination of shortterm and long-term Ramadan fasting effects. Methods: After designing the questionnaire, it was sent to 10 experts in this field for judging and commenting (content validity). The validity of the questionnaire was evaluated using the Content Validity Ratio (CVR) index> 0.62, which includes the questionnaire's essentiality, relevancy, clarity, and comprehensiveness. In order to check the questionnaire reliability, the "test-retest method" was applied among 10 individuals. Results: After multiple drafts, the questionnaire contained 16 items, categorized into "Basic information on fasting (demographic information)", and "Fasting nutritional habits" including 13 and 3 questions, respectively. The overall CVR for relevancy, clarity, and comprehensiveness of the tool were 0.92, 0.95, 0.97, and 0.95, respectively. The Pearson correlation coefficient of the test-retest stage was 0.85. Conclusions: This Ramadan fasting habits questionnaire demonstrated strong content validity and testretest reliability. It can be an appropriate instrument for the evaluation of Ramadan fasting basic information and nutritional habits in research or practice-oriented settings for the determination of short-term and long-term Ramadan fasting effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]