The Effect of a Diet Based on Low Sodium and Slowly Absorbed Carbohydrates on the Incidence of Refeeding Syndrome in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer

The study is based on a master thesis which showed that 72% of patients with head and neck cancer admitted to a Danish hospital (Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen) developed refeeding syndrome after admission. Refeeding syndrome is characterized by a decrease in plasma phosphate levels, which develops after the reintroduction of an adequate food intake after a longer period of starvation or semi-starvation. This normally happens within 7 days after reintroduction of food. The aim of this study is to minimize the incidence of refeeding syndrome in this group of patients by reintroducing food slowly and by providing a diet low in sodium and high in slowly absorbed carbohydrates as a prevention diet (i.e. given before a potential decrease in plasma phosphate levels appear). Both patients that eat normally, patients with eating tubes and patients with central vein catheters are included in the study, but the data will be evaluated both together and separately.