ABSTRACT
CLINICAL ASSESSMENT OF NUTRITIONAL STATUS Malnutrition ■ Depletion of body protein stores from starvation and/or
severe illness ■ Assessment combines history, exam, and lab tests to identi-
fy malnourished patients or patients at risk for malnutrition ■ History-recent dietary habits (usual diet, supplements,
herbs, and fad diets), presence of anorexia, nausea, vomiting, dysphagia, or diarrhea, medical illness, surgical procedure, medications, alcohol, and unintentional weight loss (see below)
■ Exam-muscle wasting (temporalis muscle, interosseous muscles, thin extremities), subcutaneous fat loss, dehydration, and symptoms and signs of vitamin deficiencies
■ Lab tests ▲ Albumin and prealbumin are negative acute phase pro-
teins that are altered by stress and are not sensitive markers of nutritional status.
