Nutritional risk in hospitalized patients during hospital stay

Introduction: Malnutrition and muscle mass loss affect the progress of hospitalized patients because they increase hospitalization time, morbidity and mortality risks, and cause major impact on the quality of life of these individuals. Aim: Analyzing the nutritional risk in hospitalized patients during hospitalization. Methods: medical records of individuals hospitalized in different clinics were analyzed. The patients were divided in three groups, namely: group 1 - patients at mean age 49.2 +/- 12.7 years hospitalized between 7-14 days; group 2 - patients at mean age 51.8 +/- 16 years hospitalized between 15-29 days; group 3 - patients at mean age 50 +/- 15 years hospitalized for more than 30 days. Results: Adults and seniors from both genders participated in the study; group 1 comprised 49 patients (41%); group 2, 41 patients (35%) and; group 3, 27 patients (23%). Patients hospitalized for more than 15 days showed weight loss, reduced BMI (kg/m(2)) and higher weight loss percentage. However, the BMI (kg/m(2)) of both the adult and the elderly patients at the time of hospital admission and close to discharge remained appropriate. There was also correlation between the biochemical data and weight. Discussion: Patients were not undernourished at the time they were hospitalized. It is a positive factor, which was probably favored by their nutritional status at the time of hospitalization as well as by the nutritional monitoring of these individuals during the period they remained hospitalized. Conclusion: The joint analysis of the data found in the current study allows suggesting that the patients hospitalized for more than 15 days showed greater nutritional risk because they lost more weight. Consequently, they underwent changes in the BMI (kg/m(2)), in the weight loss percentage and in the biochemical parameters. However, these changes were not significant enough for the patients to be considered malnourished.