nutritionDay: An Australian hospital's participation in international benchmarking on malnutrition

Abstract

Aim: Malnutrition is a significant issue for hospitals worldwide. This project examined malnutrition prevalence and associated factors including meal consumption in an Australian hospital. Methods: The cross‐sectional study was undertaken at a private hospital in Brisbane, Australia, for ‘nutritionDay in Europe’ 2009. Nutritional status (subjective global assessment), demographic, medical condition and intake data were collected from 147 inpatients across five medical specialties. Results: The present study found 19.7% (29) of patients were malnourished (17.7% mild to moderately malnourished, 2% severely malnourished). Unintentional weight loss was reported by 39.5% of patients (58) and 49% of patients (72) reported eating less than normal. There were 41.5% of patients (61) who reported not having their usual appetite, with 46.3% (68) eating half or less of a hospital meal. The likelihood of being malnourished increased 4.0 times (CI 1.4–11.6, P= 0.01) for patients who ate less than normal during the previous week and 15 times (CI 4.2–53.5, P < 0.001) for those patients who reported eating less than one quarter to nearly nothing. The likelihood of being malnourished increased 2.9 (CI 1.1–7.6, P= 0.026) and 4.8 (CI 1.6–14.3, P= 0.005) times for patients consuming less than half of breakfast and dinner respectively. Binary logistic regression modelling found a malnutrition screening tool score of ≥2 and average meal consumption of 50% or less were predictors of malnutrition. Conclusions: The present study provides evidence of the increased likelihood of malnutrition in relation to decreased meal consumption and provides insights for future interventions in the acute care setting.

Energy and protein intake increases with an electronic bedside spoken meal ordering system compared to a paper menu in hospital patients

“…(14,17) However, the nutrition analysis identified that patient energy and protein intake continued to increase significantly over the day, with dinner being the highest contributor to dietary intake. The number of menu items selected at each main meal also didn't correlate with the dietary intake, suggesting that the menu items offered at lunch and dinner may be more nutrient dense than those at breakfast.…”

Nutrition care‐related practices and factors affecting nutritional intakes in hospital patients at risk of pressure ulcers

“…Although a number of studies have investigated nutrition care‐related practices amongst hospitalised patients in general (Elia et al ., ; Ferguson et al ., ; Agarwal et al ., ), none have focused on patients at risk of PU. Similarly, the nutritional intakes of hospitalised patients and factors that may affect these have been reported in Australian and international studies (Dupertuis et al ., ; Patel & Martin, ; Bauer et al ., ; Mudge et al ., ; Thibault et al ., ); however, there are no data available relating specifically to patients at risk of PU.…”

Decreased calorie and protein intake is a risk factor for infection and prolonged length of stay in surgical patients: A prospective cohort study

“…Although adequate food intake is essential for the clinical management of malnutrition, Kowanko et al 8 found that over one-third of patients in intensive care consume less than 50% of the calories provided by the standard hospital diet. In a recent study, Bauer et al 9 also found that approximately 50% of patients reported eating half or less of their meals, and these patients were four times more likely to be malnourished than patients who ate more than half of the meals.…”