EVALUATION OF INPATIENTS NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND PROGNOSTIC INVOLVEMENT

Background: There is an association between malnutrition and mortality. However, it is unclear if this association is truly independent of confounding factors. Objectives: The objective of this study is to evaluate nutritional status, defined according to the three categories defined in the Nutritional Screening Tool “Mini Nutritional Assessment”, and to investigate its prognostic involvement. Design, Setting and Participants: Single cohort retrospective observational study in hospitalized patients between December 2013 and January 2014, who were placed under observation until September 2015 (21 months) (n=144). Nutritional status was determined by MNA short form at the beginning of the study, as well as clinical and epidemiological data. Results: Based on categories defined by MNA SF, 59 (40.97%) were well nourished, 55 (38.19%) were at risk of malnutrition, and 30 (20.83%) patients showed malnutrition. 45 patients died during follow up (31.25%). Of them, 40% (18) were malnourished, 38% (17), at risk of malnutrition, and 22% (9), well nourished. After adjusting for confounding factors, hazard ratio (95% CI) for all-cause mortality was significantly greater in the malnourished group (3.44 (1,27-9,31: p 0,015)), comparing to the reference group (well-nourished patients). Conclusions: Nutritional status defined according to the 3 categories defined in MNA short form predicts the probability of mid-term death in hospitalized patients, after adjusting for confounding factors as age and comorbidities. These data show the importance of knowing nutritional status during hospitalization for avoiding potential complications and helping the patient to overcome them.