Large regional disparities in prevalence, management and reimbursement of hospital undernutrition.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Undernutrition is a frequent condition among hospitalized patients, with a significant impact on patient's outcome and hospital costs. Whether undernutrition is reported similarly at the national level has seldom been assessed. We aimed to (1) assess regional differences within Switzerland regarding undernutrition prevalence, management, and cost reimbursement and (2) identify the factors associated with reporting of undernutrition status and its management.

SUBJECTS/METHODS: Observational cross-sectional study including routine statistics from the Swiss hospital discharge databases for years 2013 and 2014 (seven administrative regions). All adults aged ≥20 with length of hospital stay of at least 1 day was included. Reported undernutrition was defined based on the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 codes. Nutritional management and "reimbursable" undernutrition codes were also assessed.

RESULTS: Of the initial 1,784,855 hospitalizations, 3.6% had reported undernutrition, the prevalence ranging between 1.8% (Ticino) and 4.6% (Mittelland). Use of different undernutrition-related ICD-10 codes also varied considerably across regions. Multivariable analysis showed a twofold variation in reported undernutrition: multivariable-adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval relative to Eastern Switzerland: 2.31 (2.23, 2.38) for Mittelland and 0.74 (0.70, 0.79) for Ticino. Over half (59.6%) of hospitalizations with reported undernutrition also included information on undernutrition management, ranging between 28.6% (Ticino) and 67.2% (Zürich). Only one third (36.8%) of undernutrition-related codes were reimbursable, ranging between 8.3% (Ticino) and 50.7% (Zürich).

CONCLUSIONS: In Switzerland, there is considerable regional variation regarding reporting of undernutrition prevalence, management, and cost reimbursement. Undernutrition appears to be insufficiently managed and valued.