Objective: To evaluate the nutritional status upon admission and changes in malnutrition risk after 7 days of treatment among patients in the intensive care unit.
Subjects and methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study. Convenience sampling, sample size is 102.
Results: Males accounted for 63.7%, average age 59 (42-69 years). The group of patients with three or more underlying diseases accounted for 35.3%. Regarding clinical and paraclinical characteristics upon ICU admission, 90.2% of patients required invasive mechanical ventilation, and 61.8% were receiving vasopressors. The mean hemoglobin level was 117.49 ± 21.58. The proportion of patients with infection and those receiving hemodialysis was 70,6% and 57,8%, respectively. The mean SOFA score was 10,9 ± 3,00 and the mean APACHE II score was 17.41 ± 5.72. In the first 24 hours, BMI was 22.18 ± 3.08 kg/m2, Albumin group from 28 to < 35 g/L accounted for 48%, SGA-B group accounted for 52%, NRS score 3.15 ± 1.12, NRS group ≥ 3 accounted for 70.6%, MNS score 4.75 ± 1.90, MNS group ≥ 5 points accounted for 54.9%. After 7 days of treatment, the mean MNS score significantly decreased (p = 0.006); however, the change in the classification of malnutrition risk levels did not reach statistical significance (p > 0.05). Mean hemoglobin levels also significantly decreased after one week of treatment (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: Most patients in intensive care have a moderate to high risk of malnutrition.