Being at risk of malnutrition predicts poor outcomes at 3 months in acute ischemic stroke patients

Background Malnutrition is confirmed to be associated with poor outcomes in stroke patients. The present study aimed to confirm that being at risk of malnutrition assessed by Nutritional Risk Screening Tool 2002 (NRS-2002) and the Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score predicts poor outcomes at 3 months in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients. Methods In total, 682 patients with AIS were recruited within 7 days of stroke onset consecutively and 110 were dropped out. They were screened for risk of malnutrition using NRS-2002 and the CONUT score. The primary outcome is the follow-up modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score. Poor outcomes were defined as an (mRS) score ≥ 3 at 3 months post discharge. Results There was a significant difference in the mRS score at 3 months between patients at risk of malnutrition compared to those not at risk assessed by NRS-2002( P