Malnutrition determined by the patient-generated subjective global assessment is associated with poor outcomes in acute stroke patients

• Published in: Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland) Scotland), 2005-12, Vol.24 (6), p.1073-1077
• Main Authors: Martineau, Judy, Bauer, Judith D., Isenring, Elisabeth, Cohen, Sarah
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Deglutition Disorders - epidemiology; Female; Hospitalization; Humans; Length of Stay; Male; Malnutrition; Malnutrition - complications; Malnutrition - epidemiology; Medical sciences; Metabolic diseases; Neurology; Nutrition Assessment; Nutrition status; Nutritional Status; Outcomes; Prevalence; Prognosis; Prospective Studies; Scored PG-SGA; Severity of Illness Index; Stroke; Stroke - diagnosis; Treatment Outcome; Vascular diseases and vascular malformations of the nervous system
• ISSN: 0261-5614; 1532-1983
• DOI: 10.1016/j.clnu.2005.08.010

The extent of malnutrition in hospitalised stroke patients and its influence on outcomes including hospital complications, length of stay and discharge destination are important issues. The aim of this study was to determine the nutritional status of patients admitted to an acute stroke unit and the association between nutritional status and health outcomes. Nutritional status was determined prospectively using the scored patient generated subjective global assessment (PG-SGA) in patients ( n = 73 ) admitted to an acute stroke unit within 48 h of admission to an Australian private hospital. Outcome data were collected by retrospective audit. On admission, 19.2% of patients were malnourished and this was associated with a significantly greater PG-SGA score (15 vs. 5) and lower body weight (59.8 kg vs. 75.8 kg) compared to well-nourished patients. In terms of health outcomes, malnourished patients had longer length of stay (13 vs. 8 days), increased complications (50% vs. 14%), increased frequency of dysphagia (71% vs. 32%) and enteral feeding (93% vs. 59%). No association was found between nutritional status and serum albumin level or discharge destination. Malnutrition on admission to hospital after acute stroke is associated with poor outcomes including increased length of stay and increased prevalence of dysphagia and complications. The scored PG-SGA is a nutrition assessment tool that allows quick identification of malnourished stroke patients.