Self-reported body weight and height on admission to hospital: A reliable method in multi-professional evidence-based nutritional care?

The article investigates whether self-reported weight and height upon hospital admission are reliable enough to be used in nutritional screening. In a study involving 611 adult patients in a regional hospital in Antwerp, self-reported values were compared with objectively measured data. Patients reported their weight and height to both a nurse and a dietitian.

The results show that patients report their weight more accurately to nurses than to dietitians. The difference between reported and measured weight was negligible when reported to nurses but significant for dietitians. However, self-reported height was consistently overestimated, leading to inaccurate BMI calculations. This resulted in both false-positive and false-negative outcomes in malnutrition screening.

The study found no significant influence of age, gender, or diagnostic group on the accuracy of self-reported values. The authors emphasize that these inaccuracies can lead to misclassification of nutritional status, potentially affecting patient treatment.

The conclusion is that the use of self-reported height and weight in nutritional screening is not recommended. If necessary, values reported to nurses are more reliable. Ideally, height and weight should always be directly measured or determined using validated alternative methods, especially within a multidisciplinary, evidence-based nutritional care approach.

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