NO DRUG THERAPY IN PRIMARY CARE (DIETARY ADVICE & REFERRAL)
Screen for malnutrition at registration and offer oral nutrition support to anyone who is malnourished or at risk. Look for and treat the cause of the weight loss alongside feeding them - Ongoing support
Refer to specialist pediatric nutrition
NICE CG32 Nutrition support for adults: oral nutrition support, enteral tube feeding and parenteral nutrition, 2006 (NCBI Bookshelf)
Medical nutrition therapy and underlying cause investigation take precedence over unguided supplementation.
- Screen for refeeding syndrome risk before initiating rapid nutritional support in severely malnourished patients.
- Investigate red flag symptoms of unintentional weight loss (malignancy, chronic infection, malabsorption).
- CG32 mentions dietitians only as part of a hospital nutrition team or a community tube-feeding or parenteral team - it makes no recommendation to refer a malnourished primary-care adult to one for oral support. Refer if you judge it useful, but the guideline does not require it.