LAUSR

Objectives: The aim of this study was to use two nutritional screening tools to explore the prevalence of malnutrition in a provincial hospital setting in Vietnam. Methods: This prospective research recruited adult patients admitted to the case hospital for participation in a survey on the prevalence and associated risk factors of hospital malnutrition. The participants were assessed by nurses and doctors using the malnutrition screening tool (MST) and subjective global assessment (SGA). The malnourished patients received nutritional interventions and were reassessed after three and seven days. Continuous variables were expressed as mean (SD), while categorical variables were expressed as frequency (%). Result: Of 2900 patients assessed for suitability as participants, those aged over 60 years accounted for the highest proportion (45.3%), and males accounted for more than half (55.6%) of the sample. The MST evaluation identified 1441 patients (49.7%) as malnourished and 1459 patients (50.3%) as well-nourished. The SGA categorized 1735 (59.8%) as well-nourished and 1165 (40.2%) as malnourished, among whom 212 (7.3%) were severely malnourished, and 953 (32.9%) were moderately malnourished or suspected of being malnourished. The hospitalized patients that were appropriately screened and evaluated in terms of nutritional status constituted 71.7% of the sample. However, only 67.9% were administered nutritional intervention in accordance with their medical conditions. Conclusion: Hospitalized patients must be screened and evaluated with respect to nutritional status.