[Malnutrition at an internal medicine service: impact of patients coming from homes for the elderly].
OBJECTIVE
To compare nutritional state of patients referred from nursing homes (NH) and patients coming from their own home.


METHODS
Several variables were recorded from patients being admitted to an internal medicine ward for a month. Sixty-six patients were included (36 women and 30 men). The mean age of studied patients was 75.7 +/- 14.4 years.


RESULTS
Patients referred from NH had a tricipital skin fold (11.7 +/- 7.5 mm) thinner than patients coming from their home (14.4 +/- 6.5 mm, p = 0.08). Plasma albumin levels were lower in patients with advanced cancer (3 +/- 0.6 g/dl) than in remainder patients (3.2 +/- 0.6 g/dl, p > 0.05). Patients being fed by nasogastric tube had lower plasma levels (2.6 +/- 0.5) than any other patients (3.3 +/- 0.6, p = 0.03). In patients coming from their own home, febrile diseases were associated with a thinner tricipital skin fold and lower plasmatic albumin.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients referred from NH and patients being fed by nasogastric tube presented a deficient protein-energy nutritional state. Febrile diseases were associated with a deficient nutritional state in patients coming from their own home.
Ramos Martínez
A
A
Hospital Universitario Clínica Puerta de Hierro, Universidad Autónoma, Madrid.
Luna García
R
R
González Sánchez
J
J
Hernando Cuñado
M
M
Kazemzadeh
A
A
Martínez-Cañavate Montero
M J
MJ
Pascual Salvador
E
E
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007388:Internal Medicine; D008297:Male; D009735:Nursing Homes; D009748:Nutrition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013030:Spain