Abstract: Objective: To evaluate the effect of complete lateral decubitus position on oral feeding ability in elderly patients with oral frailty and physical frailty, and to provide reference for medical personnel to improve the nutritional status of the patients. Methods: Totally 70 elderly patients with oral frailty and physical frailty were enrolled from January to December 2023 in the department of geriatrics of a hospital in Suzhou, and they were randomly divided into the control group and the experimental group with 35 cases in each group. Those in the experimental group were with the full lateral position through oral feeding, and those in the control group took the 60° semi-seated position or 90° upright position (patients retained their original eating habits). The oral feeding ability and other indicators were compared. Results: After 8 weeks of intervention, the oral feeding ability, the average feeding duration, the average eating times, the average eating volume per meal, the nutritional status of those in the experimental group were significantly better than those in the control group, the frailty score and the incidence of aspiration were lower than those in the control group (all P<0.05). Conclusion: The oral feeding ability, nutritional status and frailty of the elderly patients with oral frailty and physical frailty can be improved by eating in complete lateral decubitus position, and the incidence of aspiration can also be greatly reduced.

Key words: complete lateral decubitus; oral frailty; physical frailty; oral feeding; elderly patient