The effect of nutritional risk on mortality in respiratory ICU patients

Abstract

Nutritional risk assessment is often difficult in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. NUTRIC (NUTrition RIsk in Critically ill) and modified (m) NUTRIC scores (without IL-6), are ICU-specific nutritional risk assessment tools. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether mNUTRIC score is related with ICU prognosis in respiratory ICU patients. Methods: Prospective observational study was performed in a respiratory ICU in a university hospital. All adult patients admitted between October 2018- October 2019 were recruited. mNUTRIC score was calculated within 24 h of admission. Results: 101 patients (34.7% female, mean age 66 ±12 (23-90 years), mean body mass index 25± 6 kg/m2 (12-50) were enrolled. Main diagnoses were COPD acute exacerbation in 27.2 %, pneumonia in 24.3 % and interstitial lung disease in 15.5 %. Mean mNUTRIC score was 4±1.8 (0-10). High nutritional risk which was defined as m NUTRIC≥5 was observed in 39.6 % of the study group. When the two groups compared, patients with high nutrional risk (n=40) had longer mean mechanical ventilation (1.8±3.4 vs. 5.8±7 days), ICU (6.2±5 vs. 9.4±7.8 days) and hospital length of stay (15.1±8.8 vs. 21.8±13.4 days) than the patients with low nutrional risk (p Conclusion: Nearly 40 % of respiratory ICU patients are at high nutrional risk which was associated with increased morbidity and mortality.