Effects of nutritional support and nursing intervention in elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Objective To explore the effects of nutritional support and nursing intervention on the score of dyspnea, body mass index (BMI) , respiratory function and quality of life in elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) . Methods A total of 118 cases of elderly patients with COPD who were hospitalized in Ningbo First Hospital from January 2014 to January 2016 were selected by simple random sampling method and divided into observation group and control group by random number table method, with 59 cases in each group. The observation group received nutritional support and nursing intervention, while the control group was given routine nursing intervention. The score of dyspnea, BMI, the distance of 6-minute walking test (6MWT) and respiratory function were compared between the two groups. The St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) was applied to evaluate the quality of life of the patients. Results There was no significant difference in the score of dyspnea, BMI, 6MWT, respiratory function and the score of SGRQ between the two groups before intervention (P>0.05) . After intervention, the score of dyspnea of the observation group was lower than that of the control group (P 0.05) ; the respiratory function of the observation group was better than that of the control group (P<0.01) ; the symptom score, activity score, degree of influence score and SGRQ total score of the observation group were significantly lower than those of the control group (P<0.05) , and all the differences were statistically significant. Conclusions The nutritional support and nursing intervention have a major impact on dyspnea score, BMI, SGRQ score, and 6MWT in elderly patients with COPD. It can significantly improve the clinical efficacy and quality of life of patients, and is worthy of clinical promotion. Key words: Aged; Quality of life; Nutritional support; Respiratory function