Update on use of enteral and parenteral nutrition in hospitalized patients with a diagnosis of malnutrition in the United States

Background Malnutrition continues to be associated with outcomes in hospitalized patients. Methods An updated review of national data in patients with a coded diagnosis of malnutrition (CDM) and the use of nutrition support (enteral nutrition [EN] and parenteral nutrition [PN]) was conducted using the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project and Medicare Claims data. Results Results demonstrated a growing trend in CDM accompanied by continued low utilization of PN and EN. Conclusion Underutilization of nutrition support may be due to product shortages, reluctance of clinicians to use these therapies, undercoding of nutrition support, strict adherence to published guidelines, and other factors.