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Nutritional therapy for COVID-19 patients: practical protocol from a single highly affected center by the outbreak of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection
Since COVID-19 can put individuals at high risk of malnourishment due to the debilitating effects of its acute respiratory failure symptoms, this 2021 study aimed to develop an approach to reduce the risk for malnutrition and improve patients’ clinical outcomes. Formisano et al. recruited 49 patients from the intensive care unit (ICU) and 94 non-ICU patients of the Giovanni Borea Civil Hospital in Sanremo. The non-ICU patients were given a personalized diet that considered their conditions and included high-protein and high-calorie pureed diet, oral nutritional supplements, and/or artificial nutrition. The ICU patients were considered at risk for malnutrition without screening and were fed with enteral nutrition plus supplemental parenteral nutrition. Although the dietary treatments were well tolerated by all patients, 53.1% of the ICU patients and 19.1% of the non-ICU patients died. The deaths recorded outside of the ICU were mostly women who were older and with higher body mass indices. As a matter of fact, most of the non-ICU patients were greater than 70 years of age. The protein and energy needs of these older patients were not met. This group of older participants had a higher death rate than patients whose needs were met. Apart from age, 72 of the 94 non-ICU patients scored positive on at least one nutritional risk screening item. It was deduced that nutritional strategies need to be developed to prevent worsening of the clinical outcomes of patients with COVID-19. [NPIDs: COVID, coronavirus, pandemic, immunity, the immune system, COVID-19, respiratory, high protein, ICU, hospital nutrition]
Year: 2021
