[Nutritional assessment for hospitalized patients]

A review of the following points was performed: Factors favouring the development and presence of malnutrition among hospitalized patients. Useful parameters in nutritional evaluation. Types of malnutrition. The Chang nutritional evaluation protocol is used in our Hospital, which is simple, inexpensive, reliable, specific and easily reproduced. This is based on five variables (three anthropometric and two biochemical), randomized and based on reference tables and values. A study was made on data corresponding to 70 patients, in whom a prevalence of malnutrition was observed in critical patients. The patients were classified based on three different definitive possibilities (Marasmo, Kwashiorkor and combined), and three grades of malnutrition (slight, moderate and severe).