ENHANCING NEUROLOGICAL RECOVERY WITH ENTERAL NUTRITION: EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF INTELLIGENT DEVICE MONITORING IN SPORTS MEDICINE

Abstract

Objective: This study assesses the effectiveness of enteral nutrition support, monitored through intelligent devices, in enhancing recovery outcomes for athletes with sports-related neurological injuries who require nutritional intervention due to oral intake limitations. Methods: Fifty-nine patients with critical neurological conditions were enrolled and categorized based on the critical illness nutritional risk score into high and low-risk groups. Nutritional assessments including body mass index (BMI), triceps skinfold thickness (TSF), mid-upper arm circumference (MAC), mid-arm muscle circumference (MAMC), and biochemical markers such as serum albumin (ALB), prealbumin (PA), hemoglobin (HGB), total lymphocyte count (TLC), serum potassium (K), sodium (NA), creatinine (Scr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and blood lipids were measured at admission and on day 7 in the intensive care unit (ICU). Results: Nutritional risk was stratified into low (0-4 points) and high (5-9 points) groups, with no significant differences in age or gender between them. By day 7 in the ICU, high-risk patients showed significantly lower TSF, MAC, MAMC, ALB, PA, HGB, and TLC compared to their initial measurements. Low-risk patients maintained more stable nutritional and biochemical profiles over the same period. Conclusion: Intelligent device-monitored enteral nutrition support significantly impacts the nutritional status and recovery trajectory of athletes with neurological impairments. Early and tailored nutritional interventions, informed by continuous monitoring, can potentially mitigate the decline in critical nutritional and physiological markers, thereby enhancing overall recovery outcomes. This study highlights the importance of integrating advanced monitoring technologies in the nutritional management of athletes recovering from severe neurological conditions, suggesting a direction for future research and clinical practice in sports medicine.