Abstract
Malnutrition in hospitalized patients heavily affects several clinical outcomes. The prevalence of malnutrition increases with age, comorbidities, and intensity of care in up to 90% of old populations. However, malnutrition frequently remains underdiagnosed and undertreated in the hospital. Thus, an accurate screening to identify patients at risk of malnutrition or malnourishment is determinant to elaborate a personal nutritional intervention. Several definitions of malnutrition were proposed in the last years, affecting the real frequency of nutritional disorders and the timing of intervention. Diagnosis of malnutrition needs a complete nutritional assessment, which is often challenging to perform during a hospital stay. For this purpose, various screening tools were proposed, allowing patients to be stratified according to the risk of malnutrition. The present review aims to summarize the actual evidence in terms of diagnosis, association with clinical outcomes, and management of malnutrition in a hospital setting.
Highlights
Malnutrition in hospitalized patients represents a heavy healthcare burden worldwide [1]
We found a prevaprevalence of malnutrition of 46% among hospitalized old patients evaluated by the new lence of malnutrition of 46% among hospitalized old patients evaluated by the new Global Leader Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM)
An automatic system based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) able to compare the established quantity of food before and after consumption through images is promising in detecting patients at high risk of malnutrition during hospitalization [106]
Summary
Malnutrition in hospitalized patients represents a heavy healthcare burden worldwide [1]. The increase in malnutrition-related diseases in people with multiple comorbidities is a growing health concern, and it is strictly related to both the aging of the general population and the improvement in healthcare [2,6,7]. Of note, this population group more often needs hospitalization [2]. About a third of patients with a preserved nutritional status before hospital admission will develop malnutrition during hospital stay [5]. Specific identification and optimal management of this clinical condition could improve the prognosis of malnourished patients, reducing both the length of the hospital stay and costs related to hospitalization [10]
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