A Complete Guide to Identify and Manage Malnutrition in Hospitalized Patients

Abstract

Malnutrition is extremely common in hospitalized patients. It can lead to various complications and increase mortality. However, it remains poorly recognized and many health care systems do not require nutritional assessment during the hospital stay. This most likely due to lack of awareness and inadequate coordination between health care workers. Physicians can utilize many different methods when performing malnutrition screening, and there is also a lack of global clear-cut recommendations on criteria used to diagnose malnutrition. This article aims to increase malnutrition awareness among health care providers, and provide a guide on screening, diagnosis, and management of malnutrition.

The role of low-carbohydrate diets in the intensive care unit

“…Given the complexity of critical illness and the prevalence of malnutrition in this population (Lew et al, 2017), the benefits of LCHF approaches are context-dependent. Despite the high prevalence and significant clinical impact (Lew et al, 2017), accurate identification of malnutrition and the establishment of appropriate macronutrient requirements continue to be challenging in critically ill patients (Mesejo et al, 2003; Kabashneh et al, 2020). Carbon dioxide production increases with fat formation and can also occur due to excessive carbohydrate delivery and overfeeding, thus it is important to ensure that patients are not overfed (McClave et al, 2016).…”

“…There is a gap in clinical practice to effectively monitor for overfeeding and underfeeding in the ICU setting (Mesejo et al, 2003; Kabashneh et al, 2020). Further research is needed to delineate physiological markers key to determining nutritional requirements and monitoring for malnutrition in the critically ill.…”

Phase Angle, Handgrip Strength, and Other Indicators of Nutritional Status in Cancer Patients Undergoing Different Nutritional Strategies: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…On the other hand, different studies emphasize the importance of finding markers or diagnostic protocols capable of differentiating between the different degrees of malnutrition in patients in a specific and reliable way [ 10 , 11 , 12 ]. In recent years, the role of bioimpedance and phase angle assessment has been analyzed because it allows to evaluate the nutritional status of the patient in a simple, fast, non-invasive, and convenient way, being able to obtain prognostic values.…”