Prevalence and Clinical-Economic Aspects of Malnutrition in Rehabilitation

A Prospective Observational Study on the Prevalence of Malnutrition and Clinical-Economic Aspects of the Impact of Specialized Nutritional Care on the 3-month Outcomes of Patients at High Risk of Malnutrition Admitted to a Rehabilitation Hospital

The goal of this observational study is to learn about the clinical and economic aspects of specialized nutritional care in participiants at high risk of malnutrition (Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool-MUST equal or higher than 2) admitted to a rehabilitation hospital. The main questions it aim to answer are:

• Does a specialized nutritional care lower hospital readmission rate at three months post-discharge in participiants at high risk of malnutrition admitted to a rehabilitation hospital?
• Does a specialized nutritional care lower the number of emergency department admissions, number of general practitioner (GP) and outpatient visits, number of diagnostic tests and daily medication use and mortality rate in participiants at high risk of malnutrition admitted to a rehabilitation hospital?

Participiants at high risk of malnutrition, three months after discharge were monitored through telephone interview about the hospital readmission and mortality rate, the number of emergency department admissions, GP and outpatient visits, diagnostic tests and daily medication use for treatment burden.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Admission to the rehabilitation hospital IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, Florence
• high risk of malnutrition (Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool-MUST equal or higher than 2)

Exclusion Criteria:

• age under 50 years;
• oncological diagnosis associated with a poor six-month prognosis and/or with advanced or irreversible cachexia;
• end-stage renal disease (dialysis);
• people already participating in a cardiac rehabilitation program at the time of enrollment;
• people with severe acquired brain injuries admitted for neurological rehabilitation.