OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a refeeding plan employed in patients after a long period of voluntary fasting. METHODS: A retrospective study was done by reviewing the medical records of 7 male patients (mean age of 42.0 years; standard deviation of 5.3 years) who were refed for 14 days after a 43-day fast. The studied variables were: clinical, anthropometric; biochemical and body composition by bioimpedance analysis. The following diets were used orally in the refeeding program: glutamine-enriched oligomeric diet associated with a low-fat lactose-free diet (first week); normal-fat diet with lactose (second week). Descriptive analysis of the data included mean and standard deviation. Analysis of variance or the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare data during the fasting and refeeding periods. The SIGMA STAT statistics software package version 2.03 was used to analyze data with the significance level set at 5% (p<0.05). RESULTS: During the fasting period there was a significant reduction in body weight (18.0%; standard deviation=2.3), triceps skinfold (48.2%; standard deviation=9.0) and hemoglobin concentration (from 15.98g/dL; standard deviation=0.99 to 12.74g/dL; standard deviation=0.47). During the second week of refeeding, there was a significant increase in total lymphocyte count (from 954 thousand/mm³; standard deviation=242 to 1.619 thousand/mm³; standard deviation=232); and gastrointestinal problems when compared with the first week. No case of refeeding syndrome was observed. CONCLUSION: The refeeding program used promoted a satisfactory global result but it is necessary to reduce energy intake and define the best moment to reintroduce lactose and a normal-fat diet.
Prolonged voluntary fasting; Refeeding methods; Nutritional assessment
