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Nutrition to Support Postoperative Recovery
Comparison of Clinical and Patient Centered Outcomes: Postoperative Multi-nutrient Meal Plus Enhanced Recovery vs. Enhanced Recovery Alone
Who can join
Ages 70 and older · All sexes · Healthy volunteers welcome
Full eligibility criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * patients \>=70 years old having major orthopedic or abdominal surgery, defined as a procedure with a planned inpatient stay of at least one night. Exclusion Criteria: * emergency surgery, diagnosis of dementia or major psychiatric diagnosis such as schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, inability to consent for themselves, unwilling or unable to complete all study requirements and measurements, any known food allergy, dislike of shake flavor(s), unwilling or unable to tolerate caffeine in shake, unable to take oral nutrition, BMI \>45, diagnosis of an eating disorder, insulin dependent diabetes. * MRI procedure eligibility will be assessed using the DHMC Department of Radiology's standard MRI Safety Checklist, which screens for potential contraindications to MRI scanning such as metal in the body, possible exposure to metal in the eyes, pregnancy, and claustrophobia. Any individual with a contraindication to MRI scanning will not be eligible to participate in the optional MRI component.
About the study
Older surgical patients commonly have malnutrition, and there is evidence these patients have increased risk for poor physical and brain recovery after surgery and anesthesia. There are scientific-based recommendations to provide nutritional supplements to support recovery. However, to date these recommendations do not address a broad group of nutrients likely to reverse common deficiencies. Team members have created a palatable, broad-spectrum and stable nutritional shake that we will give to patients after surgery. We propose to test the nutritional shake in frail older surgical patients at Dartmouth Health to determine if a nutrition shake provided after surgery improves recovery of physical function and cognitive abilities. Half the patients will receive the shake and the other will receive the standard of care postoperative nutritional instructions after surgery. We will collect information regarding physical function and cognitive abilities of all the patients while in the hospital and 90 days after surgery. We will use this data to apply for funding for a powered randomized trial to determine the role of nutrition in optimizing physical and cognitive recovery from surgery in older patients.
What is being tested
- Nutritional Shake (dietary supplement)
- Nutritional Instructions Only (other)
Sponsor: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center · Participants: 100 · Started: Dec 10, 2025
Contact the study team
- Stacie G Deiner, MD · Phone: (603) 650-5922
- Alexander R Roth, BA · Phone: (603) 650-0397
Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT07109505
Locations in the U.S.
| New Hampshire | Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon |
Conditions
From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Sep 29, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.