Nutritional risk as a predictor of severity in critically ill patients with COVID-19

Abstract Introduction : Nutritional risk is a parameter used to diagnose the level of risk that the patient has of develop ing adverse effects that impact their nutritional status. There are studies that associate nutritional risk with clinical evolution. Objective : To evaluate the association of nutritional risk with clinical variables related to the severity of critically ill patients with COVID-19. Methods : Adult ICU patients with COVID-19 were included, and the relationship between nutritional risk (NUTRICm score) and the variables: ICU stay, Invasive Mechanical Ventilation (IMV), acute renal failure, sec ondary infection, and mortality were analyzed. Mann- Whitney, chi-square, and Cramér's V tests were used for association analysis and logistic regression to identify mortality predictor variables. The confidence interval was 95% and values <0.05 were considered significant. Results : 100 patients were studied, average age 56.5 ± 14.5 years, 69% under 65 years of age, 53% male, pres ence of comorbidity 79%, high nutritional risk 51%, average stay in the ICU 11 days, average IMV 10 days, and mortality 52%. Associations of high nutritional risk with prolonged stay in the ICU, duration of IMV, acute renal failure, secondary infections and mortality were found. In the logistic regression it was found that the nutritional risk variable is a predictor of mortality. Conclusion : Given the association of high nutritional risk with the severity of critical patients, it is suggested that nutritional risk be routinely diagnosed in the ICU and that the NUTRICm score be taken into account as a tool to assess clinical prognosis.