A total of 835 patients were screened. At hospital admission, the oral route was the most recurrent prescription (71%); however, the most severe patients stayed fasting (29%) to be stabilized or intubated as soon as possible. Out of the admitted patients, only 229 were followed, as they required nutritional support with EN (27.6%). They had an average MV duration of 13.1 ± 9.8 days; 57.6% died, and 106 were discharged from the hospital (Fig. 1). Table 1 shows the demographic characteristics of these patients compared to those who maintained oral food intake.
Table 1
Baseline characteristics of patients admitted during the pandemic's first trimester.
Characteristic
|
Oral food intake
n = 606
|
Enteral Nutrition
n = 229
|
p value
|
Age
|
52.8 ± 13.7
|
49.9 ± 11.89
|
0.003
|
Ideal weight
|
63.09 ± 20.6
|
62.69 ± 8.19
|
0.689
|
Length of stay
|
7.04 ± 5.1
|
19.84 ± 13.1
|
< 0.001
|
|
Frequency (%)
|
Frequency (%)
|
|
Over 65 years
|
126 (20.8)
|
28 (12.2)
|
0.004
|
Male
|
382 (63.0)
|
164 (71.6)
|
0.020
|
Obesity
|
248 (40.9)
|
127 (55.5)
|
0.001
|
Type 2 diabetes
|
178 (29.4)
|
58 (25.3)
|
0.247
|
Dyslipidaemia
|
27 (4.5)
|
12 (5.2)
|
0.632
|
Hypertension
|
190 (31.4)
|
58 (25.3)
|
0.089
|
Respiratory diseases
|
18 (3.0)
|
3 (1.3)
|
0.172
|
Chronic kidney disease
|
33 (5.4)
|
3 (1.3)
|
0.009
|
Autoimmune disease
|
24 (4.0)
|
11 (4.8)
|
0.588
|
Patients are divided into those who orally feed and those who require enteral nutrition. T-tests for independent samples were used for quantitative variables, while Chi-square was used for qualitative variables; the significant p-value was set at ≤0.05
A total of 75.7% of patients were admitted with nutritional risk, with a reduction in food intake in the week before hospitalization of 66.8 ± 25.5% of the usual intake. When comparing the NRS-2002 score obtained at admission (3 (IQR 2–4)) and when entering critical areas due to the need for MV (3 (IQR 4–6), a significant difference was found (p < 0.001). Regarding gastrointestinal symptoms related to COVID-19, 10% had vomiting, 20% had diarrhoea, 10% had nausea, and 10% had dysgeusia. Only vomiting was associated with a decreased food intake (R -0.144; p < 0.001).
Patients had the following anthropometric measurements: the height was 1.65 ± 0.138 m, current weight 81.5 ± 16.9 kg, and BMI was 29.4 (26.6–33.2) kg/m2. The most relevant biochemical indicators were the following: 3.52 ± 0.46 mg/dl albumin; 174.5 ± 93.2 mg/dl glucose; 1.12 ± 0.51 mg/dl creatinine; 167.4 ± 81.1 mg/dl triglycerides; 20.2 ± 9.6 mg/dl PCR; 969.2 ± 869.5 ng/ml ferritin; 21.7 ± 8.27 ng/mL vitamin D; 2.22 ± 2.04 mmol/L lactate.
The access route for the infusion of EN was the NGT, with continuous infusion for 24 hours. The most commonly prescribed type of formula was a polymeric formula (56.0%), followed by a specialized formula (41.1%). Finally, only a few were prescribed an exclusive protein module (2.9%). Of the patients who required a P-E swallowing test, 20% continued with EN, 67% were prescribed an oral diet, and 13% fasted with only an IV glucose solution.
On the first two days, energy infusion achieved more than 80% adequacy (11.7 ± 4.9 kcal/kg); however, on day 14, the adequacy rate was less than 60% (25.4 ± 7.4 kcal/kg and when P-E 26.8 ± 6.1 kcal/kg). As for protein, it was possible to have an infusion greater than 75% on the first days of enteral feeding infusion (1.3 ± 0.3 g/kg); however, after being P-E, the infusion did not reach more than 50% (1.5 ± 0.4 g/kg)
The energy intake of NNC oscillated around 400 kcal per day, which corresponded to 89% on the first day and decreased in percentage by increasing the contribution through EN to 40% of the total energy on average in the following days (Fig. 2A). This is also reflected in the macronutrient proportions since on the first days, the infusion of lipids represented about 70% of energy consumption; however, on day 14, the proportion of macronutrients changed to 43.7 ± 30.9% for carbohydrates, 17.6 ± 11.3% for protein, and 32.2 ± 23% for lipids (Fig. 2B). Only patients who received specialized formulas received omega-3 and arginine within their nutritional content. The average infused omega-3 and arginine during the first 15 days was 1.72 g (IQR: 0.8–4.0) and 6.77 g (IQR: 2.75–11.9), respectively. Additionally, the contribution of other micronutrients was recorded, which confirmed that the recommended daily doses were reached.
Linear regression models by random effects were used to find associations of specific variables, obtaining the following results: the days of LOS in the hospital and days of MV increased with each calorie infused (LOS: coefficient 0.002, 95% CI: 0.001 to 0.004, and p < 0.001; MV: coefficient 0.001, 95% CI: 0001 to 0.002, and p < 0.001) and with the administration of propofol (ml) (LOS: coefficient 0.04 and 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.072; MV: coefficient 0.03, 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.05, and p = 0.003). An association was found between increased triglycerides and calories infused (coefficient 0.07, 95% CI: 0.04 to 0.10, and p < 0.001), between CRP reduction and calories infused (coefficient − 0.005, 95% CI: -0.007 to -0.003, and p < 0.001), and between increasing CRP and propofol infusion (coefficient 0.13, 95% CI: 0.06 to 0.20, and p < 0.001). The variables studied in patients with EN that were related to higher mortality were found to be age (HR: 1.07; 95% CI: 1.05 to 1.09), sex (HR: 1.63; 95% CI: 1.07 to 2.48), and nutritional risk (HR: 1.32; 95% CI: 1.03 to 1.70); on the other hand, those associated with lower mortality were infused energy (kcal/kg) (HR: 0.97; 95% CI: 0.96 to 0.98), infused protein (g/kg) (HR: 0.68; 95% CI: 0.50 to 0.93), the percentage of protein adequacy (HR: 0.63; CI: 95% 0.42 to 0.94), and the contribution of specific nutrients like arginine (HR 0.93; 95% CI: 0.91 to 0.96 ) and omega-3 (HR 0.77; 95% CI: 0.71 to 0.84) (Fig. 3).