Abstract
Background and objectives: Critically ill patients are at high risk of malnutrition which is associated with poor outcomes, increased morbidity, mortality and length of hospitalization. The mNUTRIC score is a nutritional screening and assessment tool to evaluate low or high risk of malnutrition in hospitalized patients. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between the provision of medical nutrition therapy and the length of stay of patients Intensive Care Unit.
Methods: This study used a retrospective cohort study design on 250 critical patients hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit in 2020 and 2021. Energy intake was recorded in the form of trophic energy and full energy in patient groups with low and high risk mNUTRIC scores and length of stay, then analyzed the relationship between energy and length of stay in the Intensive Care Unit.
Results: After analyzing patients with low risk of malnutrition, the results showed that energy intake < 600 calories had a length of stay in the ICU with a mean ± SD of 4.76 ± 2.47 days, while energy ≥ 600 calories in patients with a length of stay of 9.65 ± 6.79 days had significant results with a p value = 0.000. Similarly, in high risk malnutrition, the provision of energy intake < 600 calories and ≥ 600 calories, has significant results with a mean ± SD length of stay of 5.00 ± 3.14 days and 11.33 ± 7.81 days, respectively. It can be said that low risk malnutrition patients, both given energy intake < 600 calories and ≥ 600 calories, have a shorter length of stay in the ICU than high risk patients.
Conclusion: Medical nutrition therapy provided as trophic energy and full energy had an association with the length of hospitalization of critically ill patients, where the length of hospitalization was shorter in subjects with low risk compared to high risk.