Randomized clinical trial of nutritional counseling for malnourished hospital patients

Malnutrition is associated with an increased risk of mortality and morbidity, longer hospital stays and general loss of quality of life. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of dietary counseling for malnourished hospital patients.

Prospective, randomized, open-label study of 106 hospital patients with malnutrition (54 in the control group and 52 in the intervention group). The intervention group received dietary counseling, and the control group underwent standard treatment. We determined the patients' nutritional state (body mass index, laboratory parameters, malnutrition universal screening tool), degree of dependence (Barthel index), quality of life (SF-12), degree of satisfaction (CSQ-8), the number and length of readmissions and mortality.

The patients who underwent the "intervention" increased their weight at 6 months, while the controls lost weight (difference in body mass index, 2.14kg/m(2); p<.001). The intervention group had better results when compared with the control group in the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool scores (difference, -1.29; p<.001), Barthel index (difference, 7.49; p=.025), SF-12 (difference, 13.72; p<.001) and CSQ-8 (difference, 4.34, p<.001) and required fewer readmissions (difference, -0.37; p=.04) and shorter stays for readmissions (difference, -6.75; p=.035). Mortality and laboratory parameters were similar for the 2 groups.

Nutritional counseling improved the patients' nutritional state, quality of life and degree of dependence and decreased the number of hospital readmissions.