JMA J. 2026 Jan 15;9(1):340-349. doi: 10.31662/jmaj.2025-0343. Epub 2026 Jan 14.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Malnutrition is common and often goes unrecognized among hospitalized patients, particularly older adults. Early identification and individualized nutritional interventions are essential for improving outcomes. The Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS-2002) is a validated tool widely used in acute care settings, but its utility in dental and oral surgery remains underexplored. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical utility of NRS-2002 in patients admitted to the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) at a university-affiliated dental hospital in Japan, and to examine the relationship between nutritional risk and clinical factors such as age, body mass index (BMI), diagnosis, and length of hospital stay.
METHODS: A retrospective observational study was conducted on 548 patients (224 men, 324 women) hospitalized between August 2024 and March 2025. Nutritional screening was performed at admission using NRS-2002. Patients scoring ≥3 were classified as at nutritional risk and further assessed according to the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition criteria.
RESULTS: The overall prevalence of nutritional risk, defined as NRS-2002 ≥3, was 1.6% (n = 9), which was insufficient for robust statistical analysis. Most patients identified as at nutritional risk were elderly women with low BMI and severe conditions, including medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw and osteomyelitis. These patients experienced prolonged hospital stays and were more likely to require oral nutritional supplements. In contrast, the majority of inpatients were younger adults, accounting for the overall low prevalence of nutritional risk.
CONCLUSIONS: The NRS-2002 effectively identified older, underweight patients who underwent OMFS with severe conditions and longer hospital stays, despite the overall low prevalence of nutritional risk. Early nutritional screening with standardized tools such as NRS-2002 may help optimize perioperative management.
PMID:41676799 | PMC:PMC12889139 | DOI:10.31662/jmaj.2025-0343
