ntroduction: Hospital malnutrition is considered a public health problem, whose prevalence ranges from 40% to 60% on admission, reaching figures of 80% during the course of hospitalization. In this context, the nutriDia Brasil project aims to highlight nutritional problems that hospitalized patients have, as well as resources available for the management and knowledge of health professionals in this regard. Methods: Longitudinal observational study, using data from the multiprofessional nutritional therapy team at Hospital São Vicente de Paulo, in Passo Fundo, RS, an institution participating in nutriDia Brasil, in November 2017. For the composition of the study, variables such as gender, age, diagnosis, length of hospital stay, body mass index (BMI), weight loss, identification of nutritional risk, type of nutritional therapy, acceptance of diet, consumption of food outside the hospital routine
and clinical outcome after 30 days. Results: 136 patients were evaluated, with a mean age of 57 ± 3.2 years, most of whom were male (53%). The main causes of hospitalization were diseases of the musculoskeletal system (21.1%), circulatory (15.8%), digestive (13.9%) and genitourinary (10%). Regarding nutritional status, the mean BMI was 25.9 ± 4.8 kg/m² and weight loss was reported in 55% of cases, with an average reduction of 6.7 ± 2.1 kg. 39.2% of those evaluated and only 51.9% managed to ingest the entire hospital diet prescribed. Among the causes of reduced food intake,
13.2% reported symptoms such as nausea or vomiting and 9.1% loss of appetite. 71.3% received an exclusive oral diet; 17.4% used nutritional supplements in combination with hospital foods and 11.3% received artificial nutrition. Conclusion: Weight loss, inadequate food intake and the presence of nutritional deviations were the most relevant factors, suggesting the need to implement improvements that contribute to safe and quality care for the patient.
