Nutritional Management of Hospitalized Patients

Malnourishment refers to a condition, which occurs due to the consumption of a diet that has insufficient nutrients or consumption of the wrong type of diet. Hospitalized patients are often malnourished and this condition is often not diagnosed and treated. Studies have suggested that many medical inpatients who are malnourished suffer from multiple comorbidities. In clinical practice, most of the nutritional guidelines are developed taking into account a single disease, which makes it difficult to devise proper nutritional guidelines for polymorbid patients. Management of malnourishment involves providing nutritional supplementation that can improve functioning of muscle and increasing the weight. In case of patients whose daily nutritional demands cannot be fulfilled through oral diets, the medical practitioners may prescribe enteral nutrition (EN), wherein, nutrients are introduced in the body through a catheter or probe that is inserted into the gastric or intestinal region of the patients. The education and awareness of proper nutritional diet can also be helpful in improving the condition. This book presents the latest studies on the nutritional management of hospitalized patients. It will help new researchers by foregrounding their knowledge in this area of study.