Cor Vasa 2013, 55(5):e427-e433 | DOI: 10.1016/j.crvasa.2013.06.007

Nutritional status of patients in the cardiac ward of a regional hospital

Martin Gřiva^a,*, Jiří Jarkovský^b, Petra Brázdilová^c

^a Interní klinika, Krajská nemocnice T. Bati, a. s., Zlín, Česká republika

^b Institut biostatistiky a analýz Lékařské a Přírodovědecké fakulty Masarykovy univerzity, Brno, Česká republika

^c Fakulta technologická, Univerzita T. Bati, Zlín, Česká republika

Aim of study: To assess the nutritional status of patients in the cardiac ward of the Regional Hospital in Zlín, and to analyze the association between nutritional status and selected characteristics of hospitalized cardiac patients.

Patients and methods: A group of 236 patients was created by collecting of data of all currently hospitalized patients at randomly selected time points at an approximately 3-week intervals (August through December 2012). Nutritional status was assessed using a screening questionnaire developed by the Nutrition and Dietetic Center of the Prague-based Thomayer Hospital. The data were used to determine any association between the risk of malnutrition with sex, age, diagnosis of a heart disease, left ventricular function, associated conditions, length of hospitalization, social background, treatment with some drugs, insomnia, chronic pain, patient mobility, and other factors.

Results: The criteria of impending malnutrition were met by 67 patients (28.4%) while 3 patients (1.3%) already suffered from malnutrition. Significant risk factors for malnutrition included female sex (malnutrition risk 22% males vs. 37.8% females; p=0.009), age above 76 years (median 70 vs. 78 years; p

Keywords: Cardiology; Malnutrition; Nutritional screening; Risk factors of malnutrition

Received: May 20, 2013; Revised: June 22, 2013; Accepted: June 25, 2013; Published: October 1, 2013  Show citation