Malnutrition in hospitals

It is therefore essential that, especially in hospitals, sufficient and well-balanced nourishment is guaranteed and that a patient’s weight is regularly checked. In reality, this isn’t often the case. A quarter of all hospital patients are already malnourished when submitted into hospital care. Depending on the department, between 30% and 80% of hospital patients will lose weight during the course of their therapy. Various studies have shown that these patients are more sensitive towards infections and need intensified care. They are also prone to more frequent wound-healing disorders, as well as to developing decubitus. Malnourished patients are also in worse psychological shape than patients with healthy nourishment. On average, undernourished patients remain in hospitals 50% longer and the risk of dying from their illness is 12 times higher.

There are many reasons for malnutrition and undernourishment: acute and energy-draining diseases such as large injuries or burns, bad infections and long-term disease patterns, such as tumors can be risk factors. Psychological parameters, such as appetite deficiency or the inability to provide and prepare meals, can also lead to health issues. In hospitals, malnutrition can arise when an individual’s needs and preferences are not taken into account and additional drinks or supplements are not optimally applied.

The older and more multi-morbid a patient is, the higher the risk factor becomes for suffering from malnutrition. According to a geriatric study at Uniklinik Cologne, more than 80% of all patients over 80 years of age are undernourished. At this age, a loss of the ability to taste as well as a loss of appetite can advance the basic illness. Many patients’ limited mobility will further complicate the ability to check body weight and identify malnutrition.

For patient groups that are especially hard to mobilise, seca offers various chair scales that enable weighing options in a comfortable seating position. The seca-chair scales are adapted to fit the patient’s individual needs during regular check ups in hospitals. The basic model seca 956 combines precision, high quality and an intuitive usability. It can carry up to 200 kg and is segmented into steps of 100 g, and can therefore weigh overweight patients easily and without complications. The scale’s battery power sets flexible mobility standards, as the patient no longer has to be brought to the scale and the device can be carried to the patient. The seca 956 is also equipped with a tare and hold function to simplify procedures. With the tare-function, every newly added weight can be individually measured while the hold-function offers the possibility for the examiner to take his time discussing details with the patient before reading the weight.