[Nutritional status in elderly patients with a hip fracture].
OBJECTIVE
Undernutrition is very common in elderly patients with a hip fracture. Malnutrition is associated with increased risk of complications after surgery. Few data exist about the presence of nutritional risk in these patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of undernutrition and the nutritional risk in elderly patients with a hip fracture admitted to a hospital.


METHODS
A cross sectional study assessing the nutritional status of 80 patients with hip fracture (mean age 80 years) was carried out. Functional capacity, anthropometric measurements, biochemical markers and dietary intake were evaluated. The Mini Nutritional Assessment test has been used to detect nutritional risk.


RESULTS
8.8% of patients were undernourished. 43.7% at risk of malnutrition and 47.5% well-nourished according to MNA test. If only BMI was considered the prevalence of malnutrition was 5%. Energy and micronutrient intake was low and could contribute to the development of complications after surgery.


CONCLUSIONS
Our study shows a high prevalence of nutritional risk in elderly patients with a hip fracture. The inclusion of MNA in the preoperative evaluation could contribute to a better nutritional intervention during their stay in the hospital and to provide specific dietary advices to avoid malnutrition after surgery.
Pérez Durillo
F T
FT
Unidad de Gestión Clínica San Felipe, Distrito Sanitario de Jaén, Bailén, Jaén, España. ft_perez@yahoo.com
Ruiz López
M D
MD
Bouzas
P R
PR
Martín-Lagos
A
A
D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006620:Hip Fractures / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D009752:Nutritional Status; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment