Nutritional parameters and clinical outcomes of patients admited with COVID-19 in a university hospital

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the relationship between nutritional parameters and clinical factors and the outcome of patients diagnosed with COVID-19. Method This is a prospective longitudinal study involving patients with COVID-19 infection admitted to a University Hospital in Pernambuco. The sample consisted of individuals aged ≥20 years who tested positive for COVID-19 infection. Nutritional risk was assessed using the recommended screening procedure for this group and the nutritional status using the Body Mass Index. Demographic and clinical variables were transcribed from the medical records. Results There was a predominance of adult inpatients between 20 and 59 years of age (95% CI: 64.6-76.0); nutritional risk was observed in 91.6% of patients and overweight in 58.9% of patients. Age ≥60 years (p=0.03), presence of malignancies and inadequate nutrition (p<0.001) were independent risk factors for in-hospital death. It was also observed that only arterial hypertension (OR 2.34, 95% CI 1.32-4.13, p=0.003) and overweight (OR 1.84, 95% CI 1.05-3.21, p=0.032) were considered independent risk factors for admission of the patients in the Intensive Care Unit. Conclusion Although overweight is a risk factor for admission in the Intensive Care Unit, it was not possible to observe it as a factor for mortality, requiring further studies to determine the mechanisms that interfere in the association between obesity and mortality in those patients.