Changes in Taste Perception and Preference in the Peri-operative Patient

NCT02154841 | Completed

• 2 other identifiers: 11/P/00910/H0203/74
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 30
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

It is well known that patients who have undergone major surgical procedures are vulnerable to the consequences of inadequate calorie or nutritional intake. Clinical studies have demonstrated that early post-operative feeding increases strength and healing of an intestinal anastomosis, reduces surgical site infection and length of hospital stay. The 'Enhanced recovery programme', ERP, includes early post-operative nutrition as one of its key goals, however there is no guidance on the type of food that should be offered to patients in this programme. Anecdotally, many patients and healthcare professionals believe that there are differences in how food tastes to early post-operative patients. If there are changes in taste following surgery this will affect the food choices that patients make in the early post-operative period. No studies have addressed this question to date. In this study we hope to describe this affect and consider the significance of any changes on the background of current hospital food options. We hypothesise that food preference and tastes and desires are altered in the early post operative period and this affects what patients eat at this critical time.

Conditions

Post Operative Nutrition

Keywords

Postoperative; nutrition; taste; perception; preference; choice

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• To describe taste appreciation and detection in the pre and post-operative Assess taste changes in the peri-operative patient

  Patients that agree to participate will complete a questionnaire that asks them about their taste preferences. Recruits will be shown photos of various food stuffs and asked to choose their preferred meal. They will also be asked to put five sponge sticks (a single use item commonly used for mouth care) dipped in one of a five different liquids into their mouths and give their comments what each taste was and on how much they enjoyed it. These five liquids represent the four well-described tastes (sweet, sour, salty, bitter) and a more recently proposed taste, savoury. The intention of this part of the trial is to assess the patient's ability to detect alteration in pure taste and to identify if any of these tastes are preferred.

  3 days post operation

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Assess taste preferences in the peri-operative patient

  3 days post operation

• Patients choice of meal from a selection of photographs of food

  3 days post operation

Study Arms (1)

Questionnaire, taste test, visual food test

EXPERIMENTAL

The participants will complete a questionnaire that asks them about their taste preferences. They will also will be shown photos of various food stuffs and asked to choose their preferred meal. They will also be asked to put five sponge sticks (a single use item commonly used for mouth care) dipped in one of a five different liquids into their mouths and give their comments what each taste was and on how much they enjoyed it. These five liquids represent the four well-described tastes (sweet, sour, salty, bitter) and a more recently proposed taste, savoury. The intention of this part of the trial is to assess the patient's ability to detect alteration in pure taste and to identify if any of these tastes are preferred.

Behavioral: Questionnaire, taste test, visual food test

Interventions

Questionnaire, taste test, visual food test BEHAVIORAL

Questionnaire, taste test, visual food test

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Patients who undergo the following laparoscopic procedures
• anterior resection
• right/Left hemicolectomy
• sigmoid colectomy
• abdominal-perineal resection
• stoma formation

You may not qualify if:

• The participant may not enter the study if:
• patients under 18 years old
• if they report any protracted change in taste over the 6 months prior to surgery

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University Hospital Plymouth NHS Trust: lead

Study Sites (1)

Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust

Plymouth, Devon, PL6 8DH, United Kingdom

Location

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Surveys and Questionnaires

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Data Collection; Epidemiologic Methods; Investigative Techniques; Health Care Evaluation Mechanisms; Quality of Health Care; Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation; Public Health; Environment and Public Health

Study Officials

• Stephen Lewis, M.B., Ch.B., M.D.

  University Hospital Plymouth NHS Trust

  STUDY DIRECTOR

• Sophie-Anne Welchman, B.Sc.(Hons), M.B.B.S.

  University Hospital Plymouth NHS Trust

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 30, 2014
• First Posted: June 3, 2014
• Study Start: February 1, 2011
• Primary Completion: December 1, 2012
• Study Completion: December 1, 2012
• Last Updated: June 3, 2014

Record last verified: 2014-05

Locations

GB (1)