Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Mar 23;15(7):1554.
doi: 10.3390/nu15071554.

Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) Score as a Potential Prognostic Indicator of In-Hospital Mortality, Sepsis and Length of Stay in an Internal Medicine Department

Nicoletta Miano  1 , Maurizio Di Marco  1 , Salvatore Alaimo  1 , Giuseppe Coppolino  1 , Giuseppe L'Episcopo  1 , Stefano Leggio  1 , Roberto Scicali  1 , Salvatore Piro  1 , Francesco Purrello  1 , Antonino Di Pino  1
Affiliations

Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) Score as a Potential Prognostic Indicator of In-Hospital Mortality, Sepsis and Length of Stay in an Internal Medicine Department

Nicoletta Miano et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

The controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score represents poor nutritional status and has been identified as an indicator of adverse outcomes. Our aim was to evaluate the prognostic role of the CONUT score on in-hospital outcomes in an Internal Medicine Department. This is a retrospective study analyzing data from 369 patients, divided into four groups based on the CONUT score: normal (0-1), mild-high (2-4), moderate-high (5-8), and marked high (9-12). In-hospital all-cause mortality increased from normal to marked high CONUT score group (2.2% vs. 3.6% vs. 13.4% vs. 15.3%, p < 0.009). Furthermore, a higher CONUT score was linked to a longer length of hospital stay (LOS) (9.48 ± 6.22 vs. 11.09 ± 7.11 vs. 12.45 ± 7.88 vs. 13.10 ± 8.12, p < 0.013) and an increased prevalence of sepsis. The excess risk of a high CONUT score relative to a low CONUT score remained significant after adjusting for confounders (all-cause mortality: OR: 3.3, 95% CI: 1.1-9.7, p < 0.02; sepsis: OR: 2.7, 95% CI: 1.5-4.9, p < 0.01; LOS: OR: 2.1, 95% CI: 1.2-3.9, p < 0.007). The present study demonstrated that an increased CONUT score is related to a higher risk of short-term in-hospital death and complications.

Keywords: CONUT score; in-hospital outcomes; internal medicine; malnutrition.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution and classification of the study population according to the CONUT score.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Difference in the length of hospital stay among the four groups, according to the CONUT score. * p < 0.05 vs. ‘normal’.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distribution of all-cause death and sepsis among the four groups according to the CONUT score. * p < 0.05 vs. ‘normal’; # p < 0.05 vs. ‘mild’.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Subgroup analysis for the primary outcome measure: high versus low CONUT score groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Cederholm T., Barazzoni R., Austin P., Ballmer P., Biolo G., Bischoff S.C., Compher C., Correia I., Higashiguchi T., Holst M., et al. ESPEN Guidelines on Definitions and Terminology of Clinical Nutrition. Clin. Nutr. 2017;36:49–64. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2016.09.004. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lim S.L., Ong K.C.B., Chan Y.H., Loke W.C., Ferguson M., Daniels L. Malnutrition and Its Impact on Cost of Hospitalization, Length of Stay, Readmission and 3-Year Mortality. Clin. Nutr. 2012;31:345–350. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2011.11.001. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Norman K., Pichard C., Lochs H., Pirlich M. Prognostic Impact of Disease-Related Malnutrition. Clin. Nutr. 2008;27:5–15. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2007.10.007. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Barker L., Gout B., Crowe T. Hospital Malnutrition: Prevalence, Identification and Impact on Patients and the Healthcare System. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2011;8:514–527. doi: 10.3390/ijerph8020514. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cereda E., Pedrolli C., Klersy C., Bonardi C., Quarleri L., Cappello S., Turri A., Rondanelli M., Caccialanza R. Nutritional Status in Older Persons According to Healthcare Setting: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prevalence Data Using MNA®. Clin. Nutr. 2016;35:1282–1290. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2016.03.008. - DOI - PubMed