The adverse effect of excessive weight loss on clinical outcomes was documented over 80 years ago when Hiram Studley1 showed that, in patients undergoing surgery for perforated duodenal ulcer, postoperative mortality was ten times greater in those who had lost more than 20% of their bodyweight preoperatively, compared with those who had lost less. Similarly, less pronounced results were shown in medical (not undergoing surgical treatment) patients. The potential importance of these observations was emphasised by a study from the 1990s showing that 30% of 500 patients admitted to hospital for treatment had moderate-to-severe malnutrition on admission.
Original Article: [Comment] Improving outcomes with a little EFFORT