2University of Health Sciences, İzmir Bozyaka Training and Research Hospital, Nutrition Support Unit, İzmir, Turkey
3University of Health Sciences, İzmir Bozyaka Training and Research Hospital, Department of Neurology, İzmir, Turkey
Abstract
Objective: It is known that treatment is more difficult, and morbidity and mortality increases in cases where nutritional support is required. Nutritional risk screening-2002 (NRS) score and the presence of malnutrition were investigated in patients who were consulted to our nutritional support team and the relationship between this scoring and clinical course was investigated. 2002 and the presence of malnutrition were investigated in patients who were consulted to our nutritional support team and the relationship between this scoring and clinical course was investigated.
Methods: The patients who were consulted to nutrition support team between January 2013 and June 2016 were included in this retrospective study. Patients with and without malnutrition according to NRS-2002 were compared in terms of age, gender, primary disease, body mass index (BMI), calorie need, albumin, prealbumin, C-reactive protein and the length of hospital stay.
Results: A total of 450 cases were included in the study. There was a significant difference in terms of age, BMI, albumin value and mortality among cases with and without malnutrition. Mortality was not observed in the cases without malnutrition, and one out of five cases with malnutrition was found to die. According to the correlation analysis, it was observed that malnutrition score increased as age increased, and that malnutrition score decreased as BMI, calorie need and albumin values increased. There was no difference between two groups in terms of gender, diagnosis, prealbumin, C-reactive protein and length of hospital stay.
Conclusion: Our study emphasized the importance of absolute review of body mass index, albumin and C-reactive protein levels in order to evaluate malnutrition more effectively in patients with malnutrition according to NRS-2002. We think that it is important to monitor the patients closely by establishing nutritional support units in hospitals, especially in the neurology and oncology clinics, since the detection of malnutrition and nutritional support affects the clinical course.