Malnutrition associated with readmission in elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

To the Editor:Compared with non-readmission chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD)patients,the mortality rate of readmission patients is significantly higher(2.3%vs.13.4%),[1]which undoubtedly causes socio-economic pressures on rehabilitation care and medical resources.The potential factors affecting the risk of readmission are required to be identified.The incidence of malnutrition,occurring frequently in elderly COPD patients,varies from 20%to 45%depending on the screening tools used.As a practical,economical and effective scoring system,the Mini Nutrition Assessment(MNA)is of great value to assessing nutritional status in the elderly.Malnutrition is a state of vulnerability in elder populations and is associated with a poor long-term prognosis.This study aimed to research the impact of nutritional status related risk factors on readmission and assess the value of MNA scoring system and updated sarcopenia diagnostic criteria in predicting readmission risk for elderly COPD patients.