Diagnostic and application guidelines for malnutrition in adult patients (2025 edition).

Abstract

Malnutrition is a crucial factor affecting the prognosis of various diseases, especially among elderly, surgical and critically ill patients. With the implementation of Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs) and Diagnosis-Intervention Packet (DIP) in China, accurate diagnosis and treatment of malnutrition is essential for enhancing clinical decision-making and patient prognosis. These guidelines were developed by multidisciplinary experts through a systematic review of evidence-based medical literature. They adopt the new international standard for malnutrition diagnosis from the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) proposed by the Global Nutrition Organization and categorize evidence levels, providing recommendations tailored to the Chinese population's data and characteristics. The guidelines cover the entire process of malnutrition diagnosis in adult patients, including definition, epidemiology, nutrition risk screening, multi-level nutrition assessment, and diagnostic procedures. They also propose individualized diagnostic strategies for specific patient groups, such as obese or critically ill patients, and establish a standardized process for malnutrition diagnosis. At last, the guidelines form 27 questions, 38 recommendations, in order to improve the practical capac-ity of malnutrition diagnosis in China.