Nutritional Assessment in the Critically Ill Patients

Malnutrition is a prevalent complication among critically ill patients. It has very detrimental effects on the patients' clinical course. This study aimed to investigate the impact of nutrition in the intensive care unit (ICU) patients.

In this epidemiologic-analytic study conducted in the surgical ICU of Imam Khomeini hospital, Ahvaz, Iran, 34 patients were selected and divided into two groups. The first group of patients received the appropriate nutrition. The second group received an inappropriate diet, and the nutritional risk was evaluated according to the modified- Nutrition Risk in Critically ill (m-NUTRIC) score. The energy was calculated by using 25 Kcal/kg, also the two groups were compared in terms of ICU mortality, ICU stays, Acute Physiologic Assessment and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II Scoring, and the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) Score.

Baseline data, such as APACHE II score and mean age, except sex, were not significantly different between the two groups. In this study, results were toward shorter ICU stay, less mortality, and better SOFA score in the group receiving appropriate nutrition compared to the other group. However, due to the low number of patients, no significant differences were observed in the two groups.

Our data suggest that nutritional support should be considered as an essential part of the medication during critical illness.