# Nutritional Risk in Oral Surgery Inpatients: Insights from a Retrospective Analysis Using Nutritional Risk Screening-2002

## TL;DR

This study explores how the Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS-2002) tool identifies patients at nutritional risk in oral surgery, finding it effective for older, underweight patients with severe conditions.

## Contribution

The study is one of the first to evaluate NRS-2002 in oral and maxillofacial surgery settings, highlighting its potential for identifying high-risk patients.

## Key findings

- Only 1.6% of patients were identified as at nutritional risk using NRS-2002.
- Nutritional risk was more common in elderly women with low BMI and severe conditions.
- Patients at nutritional risk had longer hospital stays and required oral nutritional supplements.

## Abstract

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.

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.

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.

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.