The nutritional status assessment of newly hospitalized patients at three units of governmental hospitals of Orumia, Iran

The nutritional status of the hospitalized patients (basically protein-energy status) affects strongly on drugs turn over, surgery outcome and convalescence period of their disease. Most of the patients suffer from malnutrition at along period of time before affecting the diseases. Therefore this study was conducted to assessing the protein-energy nutritional status of newly hospitalized patients. Ninty one patients (52 female and 39 male persons) were selected randomly through recently hospitalized patients at the internal diseases, surgery and gynecology unit of two governmental hospitals (Imam Khomeini and Kousar) located at Orumia (one of the large cities of IRAN). Age, sex, type of their diseases, weight, height, Body mass index (BMI), ideal body weight (IBW), usual body weight (UBW), IBW%, UBW%, serum albumin, serum prealbumin and serum transferrin of each of patients were measured. A mini nutritional assessment (MNA) questionnaire was completed for each of patients selected. Finally we determined nutritional status of the patients. Findins revealed that based on MNA questionnaire 46.2 percent of patients (n=42) were at risk of malnutrition and 11 percent of them (n=10) were malnourished. Prevalence of malnutrition was significantly higher in malignancies that other patients (P<0.05). Thirty three (36.3 percent) patients were encountered with deficiency of serum albumin. These figures about serum prealbumin and serum transferrin were 41.7 percent (n=38) and 58.2 percent (n=53) respectively. Based on UBW% and IBW%, 15.4 percent (n=14) of the samples were underweight and 50.6 percent (n=46) were overweight and/or obese. It was concluded that nutritional rehabilitation at the first stage of hospitalization could strengthen other recovery process of the patients.