Nutrition in acute care

Abstract

Malnutrition, a common clinical problem in hospitalised patients, is under-recognised and undertreated. Nutritional screening should be carried out routinely in patients admitted to hospital using a reliable and valid tool such as the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST). The doctor has overall responsibility for the nutritional care of the patient; this may begin in hospital and continue in the community. Nutrition support teams can improve the clinical outcome of patients requiring specialist nutritional support. Refeeding of malnourished patients can be potentially life-threatening.