Characteristics of patients receiving nutrition care and its associations with prognosis in a tertiary hospital

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe the medical nutritional therapy (MNT) of adult non-critically ill hospitalization patients. METHODS: In a retrospective study, adults hospitalized for more than 48 h in non-intensive care unit medical and surgical areas that were classified as being at nutritional risk were included. Malnutrition was defined according to Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria. RESULTS: A total of 255 patients, aged 54.13±18.4 years, who were at risk of malnutrition were included in this study. Of these, 50% were males. Notably, 52.5% received oral nutrition supplementation (ONS), 23.5% enteral nutrition (EN), 15% parenteral nutrition (PN), and 9% received enteral and parenteral nutrition (EPN). Patients with EPN presented the highest frequency of malnutrition (52%), and therefore they received more than 100% of energy and protein requirements. The median length of stay was 25 days. Among patients with nutritional risk receiving EPN, no deaths occurred. Patients, identified at nutritional risk, but without malnutrition according to GLIM, and receiving ONS had significantly lower mortality than patients receiving other MNT. CONCLUSIONS: Oral nutrition supplementation was the more frequent MNT prescribed. The frequency of malnutrition and percentage of prescribed energy and protein were higher in patients receiving PN and EPN compared with those receiving ONS.