Background: Protein energy malnutrition is an important determinant of clinical outcome in older patients after hip fracture but the effectiveness of nutritional support programs in routine clinical practice is controversial.

Objective: To determine if nutritional supplementation decrease fracture-related complications in a selection of otherwise healthy patients with a hip fracture.

Design: A prospective, randomised, controlled, non-placebo, non-blinded clinical trial.

Setting: A University Hospital in Sweden.

Subjects: 80 patients hospitalised for hip fracture.

Methods: We randomised patients to intervention (n=40) or control (n=40). The control group were given ordinary hospital food and beverage. The intervention group were also given 1000 kcal daily intraveneous supplementary nutrition for three days, followed by 400 kcal oral nutritional supplementation for another 7 days. Daily fluid and energy intake during the first ten days of hospitalisation and fracture-related complications at day 3, day 10, discharge, day 30 and day 120 were recorded.

Results: The total fluid and energy intake in the intervention group reached near optimal levels whereas the control group received only 54% and 64% of optimal energy and fluid intake, respectively. Six patients in the intervention group (15%) and 28 patients in the control group (70%) had at least one complication (p< 0.0001). Five patients (13%) in the control group and none in the intervention group were diagnosed with a pneumonia < 10 days from surgery (p=0.006). Twelve patients in the control group (30%) and two in the intervention group (5%) had a wound infection < 30 days from surgery (p=0.006). At day ten, a total of 16 complications in the control group and three in the intervention group had occurred (p=0.003). At one month, 33 complications in the control group and six in the intervention group were recorded (p< 0.0001). Four patients died within 120 days, all in the control group (p=0.04).

Conclusions: Nutritional supplementation given daily for 10 days after hip fracture surgery increased the total fluid and energy intake in the intervention group to near optimal levels and the intervention group displayed fewer complications than the control group.