Establishment of a Rapid and Precise Nutritional Screening Method for Convalescent Rehabilitation Patients: A Preliminary Study.

Background/objectives: Malnutrition significantly hinders recovery in patients undergoing convalescent rehabilitation. Proper nutritional management can improve rehabilitation outcomes. This study aimed to develop a novel nutritional screening method (J-Method) specifically in patients undergoing convalescent rehabilitation and compare it with the widely used Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form (MNA-SF).

Methods: We developed the J-Method for convalescent rehabilitation settings and compared its results with that of the MNA-SF. The J-Method comprised six items derived from various nutritional screening methods and obtained solely from medical records, without patient interviews. Data from 148 patients aged > 65 years with cerebrovascular diseases admitted to a convalescent rehabilitation ward (CRW) were collected. Nutritional status was evaluated using the J-Method and MNA-SF, after which the results were compared.

Results: It is possible that the J-Method more precisely identified patients as malnourished than did the MNA-SF (J-Method: MNA-SF = 36/148 (24.3%): 111/148 (75.0%)). In detail, 75 (50.4%) were classified as having malnutrition by the MNA-SF but as non-malnutrition by the J-Method; however, no patients were in the opposite scenario. In addition, the results of nutritional screening using the J-Method identified patients in need of nutritional management intervention and suggested that to improve the rehabilitation effect, nutritional management should be initiated in an acute hospital before admission to a CRW.

Conclusions: The J-Method may be more effective than the MNA-SF for nutritional screening in convalescent rehabilitation settings, as it provides a more accurate assessment of malnutrition without requiring patient interviews.