Poor feeding linked to big mortality spike
Nutrition experts are urging providers to screen all COVID-19 patients for malnutrition, based on new data showing that infected patients’ mortality rates spike significantly in the presence of suboptimal feeding.
The interplay between COVID-19 and nutrition shouldn’t come as a surprise, Leah Gramlich, MD, FRCP, a nutrition specialist based out of the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta, noted during a recent webinar hosted by the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN). She explained that patients infected with the coronavirus often have a poor appetite and gastrointestinal symptoms, such as diarrhea, both of which can affect their nutritional status (Gastroenterology 2020;159[2]:775-777).
Such patients’ survival literally is at stake, she stressed, citing the new data, which included hundreds of COVID-19 patients in Wuhan, China. The researchers screened patients for nutritional deficiencies using the Nutrition Risk Screening (NRS) score, and found that the vast majority (92%) were at risk for poor nutrition (NRS score ≥3), with 16% at high risk (NRS score ≥5). Patients remained in the hospital for an average of 30 days, but those with NRS scores of at least 5 needed nearly an additional week to recover. Nine percent of the patients died; among those with NRS scores of 5 or higher, the mortality rate was 43% (JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr [Epub Jul 1, 2020]. doi:10.1002/jpen.1953).
……
See original please click:
https://www.pharmacypracticenews.com/Covid-19/Article/10-20/Universal-Nutrition-Screening-Urged-for-COVID-19-Patients/60680
