[Screening for malnutrition among hospitalized patients in a Colombian University Hospital].

BACKGROUND

On admission, 30 to 50% of hospitalized patients have some degree of malnutrition, which is associated with longer length of stay, higher rates of complications, mortality and greater costs.

AIM

To determine the frequency of screening for risk of malnutrition in medical records and assess the usefulness of the Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

In a cross-sectional study, we searched for malnutrition screening in medical records, and we applied the MST tool to hospitalized patients at the Internal Medicine Wards of San Ignacio University Hospital.

RESULTS

Of 295 patients included, none had been screened for malnutrition since hospital admission. Sixty one percent were at nutritional risk, with a higher prevalence among patients with HIV (85.7%), cancer (77.5%) and pneumonia. A positive MST result was associated with a 3.2 days increase in length of hospital stay (p = 0.024).

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of malnutrition risk in hospitalized patients is high, but its screening is inadequate and it is underdiagnosed. The MST tool is simple, fast, low-cost, and has a good diagnostic performance.