Background Hospital malnutrition is a serious health problem with a high prevalence among hospitalised patients, which leads to the use of parenteral nutrition (NP). It should be noted that this artificial technique involves a large number of complications related to its use (metabolic and mechanical).

Purpose To estimate the prevalence of metabolic and mechanical complications depending on the hospitalisation services requesting total parenteral nutrition (NPT).

Material and methods Descriptive study of the nutritional complications of patients undergoing treatment with NPT in 2015.

Patients older than 18 years who were in full follow-up by the endocrinology or pharmacy service of the hospital were selected.

Mechanical complication is defined as that derived from catheter placement (phlebitis, septic,phlebitis, incorrect catheter placement, involuntary catheter leakage, extravasation, pneumothorax, haemothorax, haemomediastinum and venous thrombosis), and as a metabolic complication that is attributable to an excess or deficit of nutrients (sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, glucose, triglycerides and cholestasis).

The main variable of the study was the percentage of metabolic and mechanical complications according to the requesting service.

A descriptive analysis was performed through the percentage (%) for the qualitative ones. In addition, the Chi-square test was used to observe if there were differences between the groups. The analyses were performed using the statistical program SPSS/PC (version 24.0 for Windows, SPSS,Inc., Chicago,IL).

Results NPT was prescribed for 346 patients, of which 140 had some type of nutritional complication. There was at least one type of metabolic complication in 131 patients and at least one type of mechanical complication in 41 patients. Surgical services (n=79) presented 97% of metabolic complications and 21% of mechanical complications; medical services (n=38), 87% of metabolic complications and 42% of mechanical complications; the oncological services (n=18), 100% of metabolic complications and 17% of mechanical complications; and medical-surgical services (n=5), 60% of metabolic complications and 100% of mechanical complications.

Conclusion The hospitalisation service that presented the highest percentage of metabolic complications was oncology.

However, the unit that presented the highest percentage of mechanical complications was the medical-surgical unit.

The differences observed in the services were statistically significant, which means that it would be advisable to perform analytical controls and a closer monitoring of the patients of the medical-surgical and oncological services under treatment with TPN.

References and/or acknowledgements No conflict of interest.