[Identification and treatment of malnutrition in a hospital patient]

Abstract

Malnutrition associated with a disease remains often undiagnosed despite of having a frequency 20 to 60% in the developed countries. Malnutrition delays the recovery from diseases and operations, and increases complications and mortality. In Europe, the costs caused by malnutrition are two times higher than those due to overweight. Good clinical nutritional therapy requires immediate identification of patients having or being at risk of malnutrition. Approximately one out of three hospital patients is a high-risk patient. Attempts should be made to start the clinical nutritional therapy for these patients as early as possible.