Energy supplements may not be necessary for children with cystic fibrosis

doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7542.0-a

BMJ 2006;332 (18 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7542.0-a

Energy supplements may not be necessary for children with cystic fibrosis

When children with cystic fibrosis and suboptimal nutritionreceive regular dietary advice, providing oral protein energysupplements confers no additional improvement in nutritionalstatus. In a multicentre randomised trial of more than 100 moderatelymalnourished children aged 2-15 years with cystic fibrosis,Poustie and colleagues (p 632) found no difference in mean changein body mass index centile or other nutritional and spirometricoutcomes from baseline to 12 months between the children whoreceived dietary advice plus dietary supplements and those whoreceived only advice.