Razi Journal of Medical Sciences

Background: Appropriate nutritional support has an important role in the treatment of critically ill patients. Malnutrition has a lot of negative effect on the condition of these patients. The purpose of this study was to assess the nutritional status of patients with enteral nutrition in intensive care unit.
Methods: In this descriptive-analytic study, 85 patients were studied during their hospitalization in 4 ICUs of two hospitals in Amol, Iran. The prevalence of malnutrition was evaluated according to Subjective Global Assessment (SGA), APACHE IV score, anthropometric indices and biochemical parameters. Also the amount of nutritional needs was determined and compared with the patient's needs.
Results: The prevalence of malnutrition according to (SGA) was (42.6%) on the admission day and (83.5%) on discharge day that increased significantly (p<0.001). The patient's anthropometric parameter related to nutritional status, decreased significantly on the discharge day as compared with the admission day. Blood creatinine levels (p=0.001) and lymphocyte count (p<0.001) decreased significantly during the hospitalization period. The mean of energy and protein intake were less than requirement, significantly. A negative significant correlation between anthropometric measurements and some biochemical indices with malnutrition on the discharge day was observed (p<0.05).
Conclusion: The prevalence of malnutrition was increased significantly in ICU patients during hospitalization. Handmade gavage solutions did not provide enough energy and protein requirements for the patients. The anthropometric measurements and some biochemical indexes were predictors of malnutrition in this study.