Study raises alarm about nutritional care for older adults during and after emergency hospital visits

A new study has found that the level of nutrition that older people receive when they enter and leave hospital emergency departments is largely inadequate.

“There is a significant gap between clinical practice of assessing nutritional status in emergency departments and evidence-based recommendations,” wrote the authors of the report, published Thursday in the journal. BMC Geriatrics.

While there is evidence that emergency departments screen for malnutrition, there is limited detail on comprehensive nutritional assessments and therapeutic interventions, the study authors found.

Older adults often experience adverse health effects, including malnutrition after they are discharged from the emergency department. That’s why the researchers wanted to better understand the level of nutritional care older adults received during ER visits and at discharge.

In the review, the team assessed 22 articles from 19 separate studies. The studies ranged from 44 to 749 older participants. The study used various tools and questionnaires to assess nutritional care. Only one study mentioned documenting malnutrition in medical records. None of the studies described nutritional interventions after discharge.

The report’s authors wrote that their findings show the need for a comprehensive examination of nutrition pathways, practices, policies and research to provide evidence on how best to care for older adults.

“Early identification of malnutrition is key to significantly influencing adverse physiological outcomes on body composition,” the authors write. “Therefore, older adults discharged from the emergency department suffering from malnutrition should initiate treatment to mitigate further deterioration leading to readmission and poor health outcomes.”

There is a gap in published research on nutritional assessment, dietary intervention, and care planning to reduce the health risks associated with malnutrition among older adults discharged from hospital.

“Despite the prevalence of malnutrition among older adults presenting to emergency departments, reported nutrition care is limited to screening,” they added.