Importance of nutrition assessment in critically ill patients

Abstract

A timely assessment of nutritional status in critically ill patients is crucial. This was an observational prospective hospital study carried out for 3 months from December 2019 to February 2020 in an ICU in a multispecialty hospital in Madurai, Tamilnadu, India. All adult patients with ≥ 72 hours of ICU-LOS were included and their nutritional assessment was completed by SGA (Subjective Global Assessment) forms within 24 hours of ICU admission. Data collected regarding variables such as Age, Nutritional status, APACHE IV, SOFA score, presence of Comorbidities. All patients were studied about their duration of stay in ICU and hospital, Predicted Mortality rate, & discharge outcome.120 patients were involved in the study in the age 62. 2 ± 14.years, among this 55.3% were males and rest 44.7% were females. Their complete nutritional assessment revealed that 50%, 43%, and 17% were well nourished, moderately malnourished, severely malnourished respectively. A strong correlation was observed between nutritional status, morbidity, and their prolonged stay in ICU. Mean ICU & hospital mortality percentage was 37%, 45% respectively. The average duration of stay in the ICU and hospital was 13, 20 days respectively. Participants anthropometric data decreased considerably (mean weight, MUAC, calf circumference) during ICU discharge day. BMI comparison of admission and discharge didn’t show significant change. Timely nutrition intervention and medical nutrition therapy reduce the duration of patient stay in ICU and hospital and improved patient outcomes. The disease severity scoring system can be used as guidance for objective assessment of disease outcomes and estimation of the chance of recovery.