[The malnutritioned patient].

The prevalence of disease-related malnutrition is high among surgical patients, and the condition tends to worsen during hospital stay due to an inadequate dietary intake. The etiology is mechanical obstruction in many cases but also the endocrine condition of stress-metabolism plays a significant role. Several randomized studies and metaanalyses have indicated that clinical outcome improves with adequate nutrition support. Despite this evidence, recent studies indicate that little is done in daily clinical practice. A combined effort from hospital managers, doctors, nurses and clinical dieticians is required to improve this care gap.