27% of patients with hospital malnutrition are at risk of generalized infection and other abdominal or cardiac complications i.e. twice that for patients who are not malnourished in hospitals, said Dr. Isabel Correia, specialist of the Latin-American Federation of Nutritional Therapy, Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (FELANPE) during the International Nutritional Support Forum, held at the Medical Association of Perú (CMP)

Dr. Correia explained that hospital malnutrition has been studied in other countries for 10 years and has been shown to triple the mortality rate. “For example, the treatment in cancer patients with clinical malnutrition does not have the same effect, so recovery time and risks are doubled”, she said

The International Nutritional Support Forum organized by the Medical Association of Perú in alliance with the Peruvian Association of Nutritional Therapy (ASPETEN), with presentations by Dr. Juan Carlos Plácido, President of ASPETEN; Dr. Guillermo Contreras, Head of the Intensive Care Unit at Clínica Ricardo Palma; Dr. Juan Carlos Meza, Coordinator of the Medicine Residency Directors’ Network of the Peruvian Association of Faculties of Medicine (ASPEFAM); and Luis Lazo, President of Foro Salud

Alarming figures were shown during the forum where only 2.1% of people presenting this clinical condition receive parenteral or enteral treatment. In addition, it was said that the treatment cost for a hospitalized malnourished patient increases by 300%

Dr. Guillermo Contreras pointed out that malnourished patients are those who lose more than 10% of their body mass in less than 6 months, for not being adequately fed in more than 2 weeks. Despite being a high-risk situation, the necessary care has not been taken to train professionals specializing in this work; therefore, there are not enough professionals trained to care for hospitalized patients in the country

“At a national level, there is also a shortage of hospitals and clinics that don’t have the required equipment to monitor a patient and prevent this clinical condition. We are in an emergency situation where political and educational commitment is needed to deal with it”, said Dr. Contreras

Dr. Guillermo Contreras
Head of the Intensive Care Unit at Clínica Ricardo Palma