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Review
. 2022 Feb 21;14(4):910.
doi: 10.3390/nu14040910.

Malnutrition in Hospitalized Old Patients: Screening and Diagnosis, Clinical Outcomes, and Management

Francesco Bellanti  1 , Aurelio Lo Buglio  1 , Stefano Quiete  1 , Gianluigi Vendemiale  1
Affiliations
Review

Malnutrition in Hospitalized Old Patients: Screening and Diagnosis, Clinical Outcomes, and Management

Francesco Bellanti et al. Nutrients. .

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.

Keywords: aging; hospitalized; malnutrition.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Prevalence of malnutrition based on the setting of care [27].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Intervention strategies to prevent or treat malnutrition according to ESPEN recommendations [27,89].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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