Representatives of ANUMEDI study
APNEP support the anumedi study- nutritional evaluation in internal medicine wards
The ANUMEDI study is a cross-sectional and multicenter study in order to determine the prevalence of malnutrition in patients admitted at Internal Medicine wards and identify the number of patients in need of interdisciplinary intervention.
Article
Malnutrition, in terms of undernutrition, is both a cause and a consequence of disease in both adults and children. It is often unrecognised and untreated, yet it has a substantial impact on health and disease in all community care settings and hospitals, as malnutrition is associated with longer length of stay, decreased quality of life, decreased survival and increased healthcare costs.
Undernutrition can be prevented if special attention is paid to the patient nutritional care. Early intervention, regarding the accurate evaluation of the malnutrition risk and nutritional status, is of utmost importance. Consequently, adequate screening and nutritional assessment tools are necessary. All patients should be screened on admission to hospital or other institutions, and the outcome of this screening must be connected to define the course of action.
In order to get a national perspective of the prevalence of malnutrition and to identify the number of patients in need of interdisciplinary intervention, APNEP (Portuguese PEN Society) partnered with the Internal Medicine Resident Group (NIMI) of the Portuguese Society of Internal Medicine with the objective of realising a cross-sectional and multicenter study. The nutritional assessment will be carried out using the NRS-2002 and the PG-SGA.
The study was initiated in January of 2017 with a formation to representatives of several hospitals that were interested in joining the project. By July of 2017, 15 hospitals have already inserted patients in an online database with more than 600 patients and we expect to reach about 30 hospitals, so we can get a national perspective to support national actions.
