Methods to evaluate the nutrition risk in hospitalized patients.

The rate of malnutrition is substantially high both in the population and in chronic patients hospitalized because of different reasons. The rate of patients with no marked malnutrition at the time of hospitalization who develop malnutrition during hospitalization is also substantially high. Therefore, there are currently different screening methods with different targets to prevent malnutrition and its overlook. These methods should be simple and reliable and should not be time-consuming in order to be used in daily practice. Seven nutrition risk screening methods used in children have been established until the present time. However, no consensus has been made on any method as in adults. It should be accepted that interrogation of nutrition is a part of normal examination to increase awareness on this issue and to draw attention to this issue.