When the patient eats poorly in hospital, the stay grows longer
Published on 6/5/2013
This is what emerges from a survey conducted and revealed by ADI (the Italian Association of Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition) at the 5th conference on Nutrition and Metabolism that has just concluded in Terni.
We are talking about what is defined in scientific terms as iatrogenic malnutrition, that is, deriving from incorrect or poorly administered therapies.
According to the data made known by ADI, a percentage varying between 20 and 40% of patients present conditions of malnutrition upon their admission to hospital. About 70% of inpatients, on the other hand, worsen rather than improve their nutritional status during the first 10 days of hospitalization, and indeed the condition goes unrecognized in 60-70% of cases.
National studies have also shown that diet is considered fundamental by the patient for the improvement of their state of health, and that in the elderly malnutrition is strongly correlated with the environment in which they live. The epidemiological data in fact demonstrate a prevalence of protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) that increases for the elderly living in long-term care facilities compared with those living at home.
According to what ADI has observed and stated, malnutrition is to be understood as a condition of deficit (malnutrition by deficiency) or excess (malnutrition by excess) of energy, protein or other nutrients, capable of leading to undesirable effects on body composition or on the functioning of organs and tissues, such as to bring about an alteration in quality of life that can translate into conditions of morbidity and mortality.
The state of malnutrition can then cause psychological distress, as well as alterations in the functioning of certain organs or muscle atrophy, and further a delay in the healing of wounds,
These would be the causes of the lengthening of hospital stay times, which are found to increase on average by 30-40% compared with ordinary stays when malnutrition is present, with an obvious increase in costs.