Biliary atresia (BA) is a major cause of extrahepatic biliary obstruction in children. Malnutrition is a significant clinical problem in children with BA. BA may induce the malabsorption of fat and fat-soluble vitamins, resulting in cholestasis and an impaired nutritional status. For the treatment of BA, it is most important to reconstruct the bile flow as early as possible by performing a Kasai portoenterostomy. After the Kasai operation, growth and nutrition are restored, but to follow normal growth and development, it is necessary to evaluate the nutritional status and support. Therefore, the purpose of nutritional support in children with BA is to normalize growth and development, prevent further liver damage and deterioration of the patient’s nutritional status, avoid vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and improve the quality of life of patients.

Liver disease and nutritional status are known to affect each other. When liver disease is severe, patients become more malnourished and have a worse prognosis. Adequate nutritional support for patients with liver diseases can improve a patient’s condition and prognosis. In acute liver failure, malnutrition is uncommon, and the disease prognosis is determined within a short time. Patients with acute liver failure may survive and recover if they receive a transplant. Considerations should be given to the management of glucose intolerance and hyperammonemia. However, well-designed clinical trials are still lacking until now. In the case of liver cirrhosis, malnutrition may occur due to a variety of causes, and as in other diseases, oral or enteral nutrition is preferred to parenteral nutrition. Even if esophageal varices are present, it is possible to install a feeding tube. However, in the presence of ascites, PEG (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy) becomes contraindicated due to risk of complications. Calorie intake of 30~35 Kcal/kg/day and protein intake of 1.2 to 1.5 g/kg/day are appropriate. Protein restriction should not be necessary unless hepatic encephalopathy is severe. Late evening snacking and intake of branched chain amino acids can be helpful.

Paradoxically, the obese are more susceptible to malnutrition. The more obese they are, the greater the risk for micronutrient deficiencies particularly in fat-soluble vitamins and anti-oxidants. Several micronutrient deficiencies could be worsened because of poor intake and absorption difficulty after bariatric surgery. Micronutrient deficiencies could not only decrease the effect of bariatric surgery but also cause various diseases such as anemia, neurologic impairment, or osteoporosis. Micronutrient deficiencies should be monitored, recognized, and corrected properly in bariatric patients in order to maximize the effect of surgery and improve the health-related quality of life.

Malnutrition is a common problem in hospital settings. A poor nutritional status has been associated with higher rates of infection, poor wound healing, longer hospital stays, and higher hospital costs. Therefore, early recognition and timely treatment of malnutrition is vital. To identify malnourished individuals or those at risk of becoming malnourished, selecting and validated a uniform screening tool is clearly an important issue. Both the Nutritional Risk Screening-2002 (NRS-2002) and Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) are recommended by the European Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ESPEN) for a hospital setting. For older patients, the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) is the recommended tool. Short Nutrition Assessment Questionnaire (SNAQ) and Malnutrition Screening Tools (MST) are brief and simple screening tools that use self-reported queries of variables that include weight loss and poor appetite. On the other hand, many of those require considerable time and labor to administer and may not be highly applicable to a Korean population. In Korea, most hospitals use a computerized nutritional screening system with a self-developed nutrition screening index. The variables for the tools, which are based on each hospital setting, include the objective data available in the patient’s medical records and limited information collected from the nursing admission questionnaire. The application of different tools hampers any comparison of the malnutrition prevalence between different settings and patients groups. In addition, the absence of a widely accepted malnutrition screening tool hinders both effective recognition and the treatment of malnutrition. Therefore, the development of uniform and valid screening tools and effective nutritional support programs for Korean malnourished patients is needed.

Korea Ministry of Health and Welfare launched legislation for reimbursement for Nutrition Support Team (NST) activities from August 1st, 2014, which can be applied as a flat rate fee per day once a week. The indicated patients are those with hypoalbuminemia, on parenteral nutrition or enteral nutrition, critically ill patients in intensive care unit’s, and any patient on suspicion of malnutrition by the physician in charge. NST should be comprised of a professional physician, an educated nurse, an educated pharmacist, and a professional and experienced dietitian. The maximum number of patients that can be treated by one NST is 30 per day. Such a reimbursement system has resulted in some complex problems with NSTs. The low price does not provide adequate reward for the team’s workload because the output of NST belongs to the department in charge and there is no ensured incentive. The Department of Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service cannot detect the quality problem of NST, non-compliance of physicians in charge. There are no stratified codes according to severity of disease and no difference between the first visit and the repeated visit. Every NST should be certified with accreditation and should participate in a qualified education program. Korea Health Insurance does not cover the fees for feeding tubes, formulas, and pumps. Evidence that NST activities can reduce medical cost of hospital-admitted in-patients is needed. Cost-effectiveness can be achieved by quality improvement of NST.