Impact of post-discharge nutritional interventions on hospital readmissions: A systematic review

Table 4 Summary of key findings, n (%)

Intervention	Number of participant (studies)	Readmission windows	Risk of bias	Inconsistency	Indirectness	Imprecision	Publication bias	Effect	Certainty
Follow-up counselling by clinical nutritionists or dieticians	916 (7)	1 month, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months	Some concerns in 2/7	Very serious	Not serious	Serious	Low suspicion	Mixed results (3/7 studies show reduction in readmission rates)	Very low
Individualised meals thrice a day (as evaluated and enhanced by a dietician)	21 (1)	1 month	Some concerns	NA (only 1 study)	Not serious	Very serious	Low suspicion	No significant difference (single-study evidence)	Very low
Individualised nutrition care plans	378 (3)	3 months, 6 months	Some concerns in 2/3	Serious	Not serious	Serious	Low suspicion	Mixed results (1/3 studies show reduction in readmission rates)	Low
Oral nutritional supplementation (with whey protein)	100 (1)	1 month	High	NA (only 1 study)	Not serious	Very serious	Low suspicion	Trend towards benefit (single-study evidence)	Very low
Diet supplementation with watermelon	128 (1)	2 weeks	Some concerns	NA (only 1 study)	Very serious	Very serious	Low suspicion	No significant difference (single-study evidence)	Very low

NA: Not available.