Background: Refeeding syndrome (RS) is a neglected, potentially fatal syndrome that occurs in malnourished patients undergoing rapid nutritional replenishment after a period of fasting. The American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) recently released new criteria for RS risk and diagnosis. Real-life data on its incidence are still limited. Methods: We consecutively enrolled patients admitted to the Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology Unit of our center. The RS risk prevalence and incidence of RS were evaluated according to ASPEN. The length of stay (LOS), mortality, and re-admission rate within 30 days were assessed. Results: Among 203 admitted patients, 98 (48.3%) were at risk of RS; RS occurred in 38 patients (18.7% of the entire cohort). Patients diagnosed with RS had a higher mean LOS (12.5 days ± 7.9) than those who were not diagnosed with RS (7.1 ± 4.2) (p < 0.0001). Nine patients (4.4%) died. Body mass index (OR 0.82; 95% CI 0.69–0.97), RS diagnosis (OR 10.1; 95% CI 2.4–42.6), and medical nutritional support within 48 h (OR 0.12; 95% CI 0.02–0.56) were associated with mortality. Conclusions: RS incidence is high among clinical wards, influencing clinical outcomes. Awareness among clinicians is necessary to identify patients at risk and to support those developing this syndrome.

Background: Hospital malnutrition affects nearly 30% of patients in medical wards and correlates with worse outcomes. An early assessment is necessary to stratify the risk of short-term outcomes and mortality. The predictive role of COntrolling NUTritional status (CONUT) score in this context has not yet been elucidated in Western countries. We aimed to test CONUT at admission as a predictive score of hospital outcomes, in an Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology Department of an Italian Tertiary Care University hospital. Methods: We prospectively enrolled patients admitted to our center, stratifying them into the four CONUT classes (normal = 0–1; mild = 2–4; moderate = 5–8; severe = 9–12 points) according to serum albumin (g/dL), total lymphocyte count (/mm3), and total cholesterol (mg/dL); the primary outcome measure was length of stay (LOS) and the secondary one was in-hospital mortality. Results: Out of a total of 203 patients enrolled, 44 (21.7%) patients had a normal status (0–1), 66 (32.5%) had a mild impairment (2–4), 68 (33.5%) had a moderate impairment (5–8), and 25 (12.3%) a severe impairment (9–12). The mean LOS was 8.24 ± 5.75 days; nine patients died. A moderate-severe CONUT correlated with a higher LOS at the univariate [HR 1.86 (95% CI 13.9–3.47); p < 0.0001] and multivariate analysis [HR 1.52 (95% CI 1.10–2.09); p = 0.01]. The CONUT score was also a predictor of mortality, with an AUC of 0.831 (95% CI 0.680–0.982) and with an optimal cut-off at 8.5 points. Nutritional supplementation within 48 h from admission correlated with lower mortality [OR 0.12 (95% CI 0.02–0.56) p = 0.006]. Conclusions: CONUT is a reliable and simple predictor of LOS and in-hospital mortality in medical wards.

Reseña de: BARBIERI, D., Letteratura a fumetti? Le impreviste avventure del racconto, Roma, ComicOut, 2019.

Reseña de: BINDI, V. E RAFFAELLI, L., Che cos'è un fumetto, Roma, Carocci editore, 2021.