Evaluation of the nutritional status of patients hospitalized in a university hospital

Abstract

Aim: Malnutrition is a common condition in hospitalized patients. This study aimed to evaluate the nutritional status of patients hospitalized in the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Medical Faculty Training and Research Hospital and to determine physicians' awareness of this issue. Methods: In this study, patients hospitalized in different wards were evaluated prospectively. The 485 patients over the age of 18 who were hospitalized in different wards were included in the study. The chronic disease history of the patients was evaluated. The patients were evaluated twice, at admission and on the 7th day of hospitalization. Height, weight, body mass index, and upper arm circumference were measured with the NRS 2002 (Nutritional Risk Scoring) screening test to determine the nutritional status of the patients. Descriptive statistical methods were used in the evaluation of the data, and the chi-square test was used in the comparison of qualitative data (p<0.05). Results: Of the patients included in the study, 42% were female and 58% were male. There was no statistical difference in the comparison of the presence of malnutrition by gender. According to the first NRS 2002 measurements of the patients, malnutrition was not found in 78.1% of all patients, while the presence of malnutrition was found in 21.9% of the patients. 100 of the 105 patients with malnutrition were found to be over 65 years old. According to the second NRS 2002 measurements, while 31.2% of patients over 65 years of age had malnutrition, 3.1% of patients under 65 years of age had malnutrition. Conclusion: The rate of malnutrition increased as the presence of chronic disease and age increased. It was seen that most of the patients who were found to have malnutrition in the first evaluation were not provided with nutritional support, and the rate of noticing and treating malnutrition by physicians was not sufficient. How to cite this article: Bardak S, Beyazal Polat H. Evaluation of the nutritional status of patients hospitalized in a university hospital. J Med Dent Invest 2023; 4: e230357. https://doi.org/10.5577/jomdi.e230357