Malnutrition definitions in clinical practice: To be E43 or not to be?

Abstract

Malnutrition is a disease that imposes a significant healthcare cost burden in the United States, especially when left undiagnosed and untreated for an extended period of time. This article discusses traditional malnutrition diagnostic criteria for adults and why registered dietitian nutritionists and physicians should no longer use these criteria to determine nutrition status. It concludes with the malnutrition clinical characteristics currently accepted in the United States and globally, with implications for practice. Clinical documentation specialists and medical coders can use this information to better interpret medical record documentation and assign the correct International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification codes to the coding abstract.