In the US, malnutrition is prevalent among hospitalized patients and is associated with higher morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs when compared with those without malnutrition. Over time, national data have indicated the rate of coded malnutrition diagnoses among hospital discharges rising over time, and more current data on demographic and clinical characteristics of these patients are needed. Data on malnutrition discharges from the 2018 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)—the most recent nationally representative data—were examined and compared with earlier HCUP findings. Based on International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD‐10‐CM) codes, 8.9% of all US non‐maternal, non‐neonatal hospital discharges in 2018 had a coded diagnosis of malnutrition (CDM). From this 2018 data, those with a CDM were older, had longer lengths of stay, and incurred higher costs, as compared with those without a CDM. Higher readmission rates and higher inpatient mortality were also observed in this group. These findings provide more recent demographic and clinical evidence for standardized malnutrition diagnostic and interventional programs to treat and/or prevent this condition.

Background: Malnutrition continues to be associated with outcomes in hospitalized patients. Methods: An updated review of national data in patients with a coded diagnosis of malnutrition (CDM) and the use of nutrition support (enteral nutrition [EN] and parenteral nutrition [PN]) was conducted using the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project and Medicare Claims data. Results: Results demonstrated a growing trend in CDM accompanied by continued low utilization of PN and EN. Conclusion: Underutilization of nutrition support may be due to product shortages, reluctance of clinicians to use these therapies, undercoding of nutrition support, strict adherence to published guidelines, and other factors.