P163 - NUTRITIONAL STATUS AT HOSPITAL ADMISSION AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH CLINICAL OUTCOMES IN PATIENTS FROM PRIVATE HOSPITALS

P163

NUTRITIONAL STATUS AT HOSPITAL ADMISSION AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH CLINICAL OUTCOMES IN PATIENTS FROM PRIVATE HOSPITALS

A. Araújo1, F. Correa1,*, F. Batista1, A. G. Cunha1, A. A. Queiroz1, A. C. Plá1

1Ibranutro, Brasília, Brazil

 

Rationale: Hospital malnutrition is a known independent risk factor for increased mortality, prolonged hospital stays, and complications. Assessing nutritional status at admission may guide clinical decisions and directly influence patient outcomes.

Methods: Retrospective, descriptive, multicenter study with adult patients on enteral/parenteral nutrition, admitted between January and March 2025 in five private hospitals in the Federal District, Brazil. All patients were assessed by a multidisciplinary nutrition therapy team (MNST). Nutritional diagnosis was established at admission using AND-ASPEN criteria, after NRS-2002 screening. Surgical cases (12.4%) and patients without MNST follow-up were excluded. Variables: nutritional status at admission, main clinical diagnosis, and outcomes (death or home care).

Results: Among 753 patients, 55.4% had severe malnutrition (29.0% acute illness; 26.4% exacerbated chronic illness), 22.7% had non-severe malnutrition, 9.9% were at high risk, and 11.9% were not malnourished. Mortality was 24.6%, with 78% of deaths in severely malnourished patients. Most common diagnoses among deceased: pulmonary (32%), cardiac (28%), neoplasms (18%). Home care discharge occurred in 20.6%, mostly among those without or with non-severe malnutrition, especially older adults with stable chronic diseases.

Conclusion: Malnutrition at hospital admission was strongly associated with worse clinical outcomes. Severe malnutrition was linked to higher mortality, while better nutritional status was associated with discharge to home care. Findings support the role of early nutritional diagnosis and systematic MNST involvement to improve outcomes in hospitalized patients.

References: Uhl et al., Interventions for malnutrition in hospitalized adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Hosp Med. 2022;17(7):556–64

Disclosure of Interest: None declared