Ann Clin Nutr Metab.  2024 Aug;16(2):57-65. 10.15747/ACNM.2024.16.2.57.

Early nutritional support for inpatients reduces admission rates to intensive care units in Korea: a single-center case-control study

• Kim HS
• Yang JD
• Han SW
• Lee MR
• Kim DS
• Lee S
• Kim SH
• Kim CY

• KMID: 2558562
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.15747/ACNM.2024.16.2.57

Abstract

Purpose
Early nutritional support (ENS) for critically ill patients is promoted by many studies. However, there is a lack of data evaluating its necessity in general wards. This study aims to determine the impact of ENS on patients in general wards.
Methods
Patients aged 18 and above, admitted to the Jeonbuk National University Hospital in Jeonju from January 2020 to December 2020, who were eligible for nutritional support and hospitalized for at least 7 days were included in the study. We divided the patients into two groups: the ENS group, who received nutritional support within 48 hours of admission, and the control group, who received it after 48 hours.
Results
Among 1,077 patients, 146 met the inclusion criteria. The ENS group (n=38) and the control group (n=108) were compared retrospectively. There was a significant age difference between the two groups (P=0.028). The admission ratio to the intensive care unit (ICU) in the ENS group was significantly lower than that in the control group (10.2% vs. 26.3%, P=0.019). The calorie support rate (%) and protein support rate (%) in the ENS group were significantly higher than in the control group (50.12%±23.30% vs. 38.56%±18.02%, P=0.006; 44.61%±25.07% vs. 32.07%±22.76%, P=0.002, respectively). After propensity score matching, the ENS was significantly associated with ICU low admissions (odds ratio 0.08, 95% confidence interval 0.01–0.69, P=0.022).
Conclusion
A future multi-center study considering underlying diseases is needed to provide additional scientific evidence to support the effects of ENS.

Keyword

Intensive care units; Malnutrition; Nutritional support; Patients’ rooms; Retrospective studies