Nutritional assessment of orthopedic patients.

Eighty-two consecutive orthopedic patients were assessed nutritionally at the time of hospital admission and then at 10-day intervals until hospital dismissal. Forty-eight percent of the patients had one or more abnormal findings suggestive of protein-calorie malnutrition. In spite of this prevalence of abnormal findings, only patients with three abnormal findings or a serum albumin concentration of less than 3.5 g/dl had a longer-than-average hospital stay. During hospitalization, abnormal findings developed on only three patients, whereas one or more abnormal nutrition-related findings improved to reach the normal range in six patients.