[Clinical nutrition in Danish hospitals. A questionnaire study among physicians and nurses].

Specific nutrition standards have now been developed by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). We investigated the use of clinical nutrition in Danish hospitals and compared it with the standards of JCAHO by doing a questionnaire-based investigation among doctors and nurses randomly selected in 40 hospitals. Overall, 857 (43.4%) responded to the questionnaire (doctors: 395, nurses: 462). Forty percent found it difficult to identify risk-patients, and 52% needed specific screening tools. Eighty-four percent found that a nutrition plan should be described in the patient record, but 39% found it difficult to set up an individual plan, and 79% expressed a need for specific guidelines. The use of clinical nutrition in Danish hospitals did not fulfill the standards for nutrition support according to the criteria established by JCAHO. Special efforts should be aimed at education, specific screening tools and introduction of guidelines in clinical nutrition.