title: Nutritional status and dietary intake of acute care patients: results from the Nutrition Care Day Survey 2010.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  One aim of the Australasian Nutrition Care Day Survey was to determine the nutritional status and dietary intake of acute care hospital patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Dietitians from 56 hospitals in Australia and New Zealand completed a 24-h survey of nutritional status and dietary intake of adult hospitalised patients. Nutritional risk was evaluated using the Malnutrition Screening Tool. Participants 'at risk' underwent nutritional assessment using Subjective Global Assessment. Based on the International Classification of Diseases (Australian modification), participants were also deemed malnourished if their body mass index was <18.5 kg/m(2). Dietitians recorded participants' dietary intake at each main meal and snacks as 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100% of that offered.
  
  
  RESULTS
  3122 patients (mean age: 64.6 ± 18 years) participated in the study. Forty-one percent of the participants were "at risk" of malnutrition. Overall malnutrition prevalence was 32%. Fifty-five percent of malnourished participants and 35% of well-nourished participants consumed ≤50% of the food during the 24-h audit. "Not hungry" was the most common reason for not consuming everything offered during the audit.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Malnutrition and sub-optimal food intake is prevalent in acute care patients across hospitals in Australia and New Zealand and warrants appropriate interventions.
authors.affiliation: School of Human Movement Studies, The University of Queensland, QLD 4072, Australia. e.agarwal@uq.edu.au
authors.forename: Ekta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Agarwal
authors.forename: Maree
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ferguson
authors.forename: Merrilyn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Banks
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bauer
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Capra
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Isenring
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D002149:Energy Intake; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009752:Nutritional Status; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult