All hospital patients on admission should be screened for risk of malnutrition on admission and at least weekly thereafter (RCP 2016). Screening should be repeated weekly for inpatients as set out in NICE clinical guideline 32 recommendation 1.2.6
Connie is new in the ward – her clothes and jewellery are loose and she appears to be frail, which may suggest she had lost some weight prior to her admission to hospital. She is currently nil by mouth (NBM) so it is important to establish her nutritional risk.
You should also speak with her daughter to gather some more background information as Connie is fatigued and has difficulty answering your questions at present.
In order to calculate Connie’s nutritional risk you need to consider the following 3 aspects:
- Body Mass Index (BMI)
- Weight loss score
- Acute disease effect score
Page last reviewed: 12 Nov 2021
