Nutritional Risk Screening (NRS 2002) as a tool to predict clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients: a literature review

Abstract

The presence of malnutrition in hospitalized patients is prevalent and studies show its association with a higher incidence of complications, mortality, length of stay, costs, and increased frequency of hospital readmission. Routine use of simple tracking procedures is recommended. Nutritional screening detects individuals who are malnourished or at risk of developing malnutrition, and who can receive specific nutritional support. Nutritional Risk Screening (NRS 2002) is a nutritional screening method recommended by the European Society for Clinical and Metabolism (ESPEN) and identifies the risk of developing malnutrition in hospitalized patients. The aim of this paper is to review the literature on the NRS screening method (2002) and its relationship with clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients.