Prevalence and costs of malnutrition in hospitalized dysphagic patients: a subanalysis of the PREDyCES® study

Introduction: dysphagia and malnutrition are conditions that frequently appear together in hospitalized patients. Objectives: the main purpose of this study was to analyze the prevalence of malnutrition in patients with dysphagia included in the PREDyCES ® study as well as to determine its clinical and economic consequences. Methods: this is a substudy of an observational, cross-sectional study conducted in 31 sites all over Spain. Results: 352 dysphagic patients were included. 45.7% of patients presented with malnutrition (NRS ® -2002 ≥ 3) at admission and 42.2% at discharge. In elderly patients (≥ 70 years old) prevalence of malnutrition was even higher: 54.6% at admission and 57.5% at discharge. Also, prevalence of malnutrition was higher in urgent admissions versus those scheduled (45.7% vs 33.3%; p < 0.05) and when admitted to small hospitals vs. large hospitals (62.8% vs 43.9%; p < 0.001). In-hospital length of stay was higher in malnourished patients compared to those well-nourished (11.5 ± 7.1 days vs. 8.8 ± 6.05 days; p < 0.001), and in malnourished patients a tendency towards increase related-costs was also observed, even though it was not statistically significant (8 004 ± 5 854 € vs. 6 967 ± 5 630 €; p = 0.11). Length of stay was also higher in elderly patients (≥ 70 y/o) vs adults (< 70 y/o). 25% of dysphagic patients and 34.6% of malnourished patients with dysphagia received nutritional support during hospitalization.