Incidence of iatrogenic malnutrition in patients on enteral nutrition in the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital

Abstract

The study assessed the incidence of iatrogenic malnutrition (also known as physician-induced or hospital induced malnutrition) in patients on enteral nutrition in the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu. A sample of twenty patients (60% male and 40% female) was studied.The result showed that the elderly (55%) and children(15%) were the most affected. Assessments revealed that about 35% of the patients were malnourished. The causes of malnutrition included non-compliance to feeding time, delay in referring patients to the dieticians by physicians and underlying nutritional related diseases such as dysphagia(35%), renal diseases (15%) and sepsis(15%). Effects of malnutrition in patients included paleness, anaemia, oedema, wasting, susceptibility to diseases, and in severe cases death. Recommendations have been made to reduce the incidence and prevent the harsh effects of malnutrition in hospitalized patients.