RT Book, Section A1 Jensen, Gordon L. A2 Jameson, J. Larry A2 Fauci, Anthony S. A2 Kasper, Dennis L. A2 Hauser, Stephen L. A2 Longo, Dan L. A2 Loscalzo, Joseph SR Print(0) ID 1155950774 T1 Malnutrition and Nutritional Assessment T2 Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 20e YR 2018 FD 2018 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 9781259644016 LK accesspharmacy.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1155950774 RD 2024/10/13 AB Malnutrition occurs in 30–50% of hospitalized patients depending upon the setting and criteria that are used. Poor wound healing, compromised immune status, impaired organ function, increased length of hospital stay, and increased mortality are among the notable adverse outcomes associated with malnutrition. It is now widely appreciated that acute or chronic inflammation contribute to the pathophysiology of disease-related or injury-related malnutrition. The presence of inflammation can also render historic nutrition assessment indicators, like albumin and prealbumin, unreliable and inflammation diminishes favorable responses to nutrition therapies. In order to guide appropriate care, it is necessary to properly assess and diagnose malnutrition. Nutrition assessment is a comprehensive evaluation to diagnose a malnutrition syndrome and to guide intervention and expected outcomes. Patients are often targeted for assessment after being identified at nutritional risk based upon screening procedures conducted by nursing or nutrition personnel within 24 h of hospital admission. Screening tends to focus explicitly on a few risk variables like weight loss, compromised dietary intake, and high risk medical/surgical diagnoses. Preferably, health professionals complement this screening with a systematic approach to comprehensive nutrition assessment that incorporates an appreciation for the contributions of inflammation that serve as the basis for new approaches to the diagnosis and management of malnutrition syndromes.