Prevalence and Clinical-Economic Aspects of Malnutrition in Rehabilitation

The overall clinical managment of people by ward's staff includes also nutritional care. Within 24-48 h after hospitalization, the ward's nursing staff screens people for nutritional risk using the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) tool. The attending ward's physician prescribes nutritional support and laboratory analyses in accordance with people's clinical needs and the underlying disease. Ward's physician cllinical judgement guides the decision to reassess and monitor the people's nutritional risk and status.

People referred to the Dietetic and Clinical Nutrition Service (DCNS) receive a structured, evidence-based diagnostic and therapeutic nutritional support. A dietitian performs a dietary assessment and the attending physicians of the DCNS prescribe a baseline set of laboratory analyses relevant for nutritional status. People referred to the DCNS are monitored regularly and systematically, daily or weekly according to the people's clinical condition and nutritional problems.

Three months after discharge (follow-up), participiants of both groups were monitored through telephone interview to collect data regarding rate of hospital readmission, number of emergency department admissions, general practitioner visits, outpatient visits, diagnostic tests, daily medication use and survival.