Lesson learnt from COVID-19 pandemic. Analysis of nutritional aspect of critically ill patients treated in intensive care unit – single-center, retrospective study.

Streszczenie

The patient overload brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic challenged the capacity healthcare system. The virus causes respiratory symptoms, including cough and dyspnea as well as loss of taste and smell. These symptoms can lead to reduced food intake and, in severe cases, may result in malnutrition, which is one of the important challenges among hospitalized patients. This was retrospective study assessing the nutritional aspects of our Intensive Care Unit (ICU) COVID-19 patients with the primary aim of the study being to analyze preadmission data, and ICU stay data with the occurrence of refeeding syndrome. Out of 165 patients included in the study, 110 (66.6%) developed refeeding syndrome. The only discriminating factor of developing refeeding syndrome in this study was phosphates levels at the admission (p = 0.0001). In the study 69 out if 165 (41.8%) patients had enteral access present at the admission to ICU. All 165 patients received enteral nutrition during ICU stay at median day 1 (1-1). 38 (23%) additionally received parenteral nutrition (PN). The indications for PN were appropriate protein delivery during continuous renal replacement therapy 30 out of 38 patients (78.9%) and persistent enteral nutrition intolerance 8 out of 38 patients (21.1%). In conclusion, monitoring for refeeding syndrome should be implemented in all patients with malnutrition risk. Nutritional education and establishing internal protocols regarding nutritional intervention could provide better care for patients. Further studies that monitor the nutritional status of ICU patients could greatly improve nutritional interventions in critically ill patients.