A survey of Changes in nutritional risk and incidence of malnutrition among patients with chronic cardiovascular disease during 7-30 days hospitalization in 3 tertiary hospitals in Beijing

Abstract

Objective To investigate the changes of nutritional status of chronic cardiovascular patients during hospitalization by using nutritional risk screening 2002 (NRS 2002) and subjective global assessment (SGA). Methods A prospective, parallel multicenter study was carried out in 3 tertiary A hospitals in Beijing from June 2014 to September 2014. Subjects in the study had been hospitalized for 7-30 days for various types of chronic cardiovascular diseases. Physical indexes and laboratory examination results were recorded within 24 hours after admission and 24 hours before discharge. The nutritional status was evaluated using NRS 2002 and SGA. Results 454 inpatients were enrolled in this study. Prevalence of undernutrition, defined as body mass index<18.5 kg/m2 with poor general condition, was 7.0% on admission. Prevalence of nutritional risk (NRS 2002 score≥3) was 27.9%. Patients with heart valve disease (34.6%) and arrhythmia (47.5%) had higher prevalence of nutritional risk, which decreased on discharge. At admission, the prevalence of SGA-based moderate and severe undernutrition (grade B+ C) was 16.7%. In particular, this prevalence was higher in patients with heart valve disease (30.7%) and arrhythmia (22.5%). At discharge, the proportion of patients (except patients with coronary heart disease) with moderate and severe dystrophy, especially severe dystrophy, decreased significantly. Conclusions Patients with chronic cardiovascular disease were likely to have comorbid nutritional risk at the time of admission, including undernutrition, as defined by body mass index<18.5 kg/m2 plus poor general condition, and SGA-based moderate or severe malnutrition, which was partially improved on discharge. Attention should be paid to nutritional status screening and evaluation on admission. Reasonable nutrition intervention should be done to correct malnutrition and improve clinical outcomes. Key words: Chronic cardiovascular disease; Dynamic nutrition survey; Nutritional status of discharged patients; Nutritional risk screening 2002; Subjective global nutritional assessment