Nutritional status in intensive care unit patients: a prospective clinical cohort pilot study

Previous researches have shown that the nutritional status of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) was poor on admission and appears to decline during their stay in the ICU. Critically ill patients are prone to malnutrition because their hypermetabolic disorders lead to an increase in nutritional requirements that are not often met with the nutrition supplied. The aim of this study was to assess the nutritional status and hs-CRP of ICU patients on admission and discharge from the hospital. Twenty-nine neurological ICU patients (20-87 years old) underwent fasting blood sample collections, anthropometric measurements and impedance analysis on admission and discharge at Ghaem Teaching Hospital. NRS 2002 was used to determine malnutrition in ICU patients. Markers of nutritional status changed from admission into the ICU until discharge as follows: weight, BMI and triceps skinfold thickness decreased (p < 0.001, p < 0.001 and p < 0.005, respectively). hs-CRP was decreased over the stay in the hospital (admission = 19.4 +/- 16.3, discharge = 13.8 +/- 14.5, p value = 0.11). The percent of patients at risk of malnutrition decreased during stay in ICU (not significant). Prevalence of malnutrition was as high as 47.6% on admission. The nutritional status of patients was slightly improved over the period of their stay in hospital using NRS 2002 method.