Malnutrition in our hospital environment is a significant problem due to two circumstances, the increased prevalence of it and the morbidity it entails, which translates into an increase in hospital stays.  In spite of being a situation that clinicians and healthcare providers are aware of, it is often overlooked.

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One of the essential components of the quality of care, with a view to reaching therapeutic objectives, involves monitoring, maintenance and treatment of the nutritional state of the patients.

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Neglecting the nutritional state drives our patients to a situation of risk and clinical insecurity, so that early detection of malnutrition or risk of suffering from it are essential requirements to establish, at an early stage, the most suitable treatment and the monitoring of it.

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The presence of malnutrition of patients when they are admitted to hospital can predetermine, to a large extent, the evolution and prognosis of their illness and be the cause of an increased hospital stay and increase in health costs.

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There are numerous scientific societies and national and international organisations which call for the detection of malnutrition as early as possible, so that it is possible to implement the necessary measures to avoid its consequences.  With the objective of standardising nutritional screening and identifying malnourished patients as early as possible when they are admitted, Osakidetza has specifically included this line of work in its new Osakidetza Patient Safety strategy 2020.

• To determine the prevalence of malnutrition in patients who are admitted to Asunción Klinika, its extent and type

• To analyse the possible relationship between different risk factors and the nutritional state of patients during their hospital stay

• To analyse the relationship between complications during their hospital stay and the extent of malnutrition during their stay:

  • Surgical Dehiscence

  • Infection in the community

  • Appearance of pressure ulcers

  • Re-admittance to hospital

• To analyse the economic repercussion of the malnutrition of admitted patients

• To establish, through knowledge with current scientific evidence, correction methods so that it is possible to implement the necessary measures to avoid the consequences of malnutrition.