Nutrition Screening, Reported Dietary Intake, Hospital Foods, and Malnutrition in Critical Care Patients in Malawi

Barcus, Grace C.; Papathakis, Peggy C.; Schaffner, Andrew; Chimera, Bernadette

doi:10.3390/nu13041170

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Nutrition Screening, Reported Dietary Intake, Hospital Foods, and Malnutrition in Critical Care Patients in Malawi

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Department of Food Science and Nutrition, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USA

Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, P.O. Box 95, Blantyre, Malawi

Department of Statistics, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USA

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School of Public Health and Family Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Malawi, Chichiri, Blantyre, Malawi

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Kamuzu Central Hospital, Area 33 Mzimba Street, P.O. Box 106, Lilongwe, Malawi

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Academic Editor: Ryo Momosaki

Nutrients 2021, 13(4), 1170; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13041170

Received: 26 February 2021 / Revised: 29 March 2021 / Accepted: 29 March 2021 / Published: 1 April 2021

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Rehabilitation in Older Patients with Disability)

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Abstract

In low-income countries there are few data on hospital malnutrition. Reduced food intake combined with nutrient-poor foods served in hospitals contribute to nutritional risk. This study investigated whether reported dietary intake and disease state of hospitalized adults in critical care units was related to malnutrition determined by mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC). Adult in-patients (n = 126) in tuberculosis, burn, oncology, and intensive care units in two public tertiary hospitals in Malawi were screened for nutritional status using MUAC and a question on current dietary intake. The hospital menu was reviewed; portion sizes were weighed. The prevalence of moderate and severe malnutrition was 62%. Patients with organ-related diseases and infectious diseases had the highest rates of reduced reported dietary intake, 71.4% and 57.9%, respectively; however, there was no association between reported dietary intake and MUAC. In those unable to eat, however, the rate of severe malnutrition was 50%. The menu consisted of porridge and thickened corn-based starch with fried cabbage; protein foods were provided twice weekly. There was a nutrient gap of 250 calories and 13 gm protein daily. The findings support the need for increasing dietetic/nutrition services to prevent and treat malnutrition in hospitals using simple screening tools. View Full-Text

Keywords: hospital malnutrition; reported reduced dietary intake; nutrition screening; MUAC

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MDPI and ACS Style

Barcus, G.C.; Papathakis, P.C.; Schaffner, A.; Chimera, B. Nutrition Screening, Reported Dietary Intake, Hospital Foods, and Malnutrition in Critical Care Patients in Malawi. Nutrients 2021, 13, 1170. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13041170

AMA Style

Barcus GC, Papathakis PC, Schaffner A, Chimera B. Nutrition Screening, Reported Dietary Intake, Hospital Foods, and Malnutrition in Critical Care Patients in Malawi. Nutrients. 2021; 13(4):1170. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13041170

Chicago/Turabian Style

Barcus, Grace C., Peggy C. Papathakis, Andrew Schaffner, and Bernadette Chimera. 2021. "Nutrition Screening, Reported Dietary Intake, Hospital Foods, and Malnutrition in Critical Care Patients in Malawi" Nutrients 13, no. 4: 1170. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13041170

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