Nutritional and Bioenergetic Considerations in Critically Ill Patients with Acute Neurological Injury

Survey on Nutrition in Neurological Intensive Care Units (SONNIC)-A Cross-Sectional Survey among German-Speaking Neurointensivists on Medical Nutritional Therapy

Medical nutritional therapy (MNT) in neurointensive care units (NICUs) is both particularly relevant and challenging due to prolonged analgosedation, immobilization, disorders of consciousness, and the high prevalence of dysphagia. Moreover, current guideline recommendations predominantly address the general intensive care unit (ICU) population, overlooking specific characteristics of neurological patients. We, therefore, conducted a web-based, cross-sectional survey for German-speaking neurointensivists mapping the clinical practices of MNT on NICUs to identify research gaps and common grounds for future clinical trials. A total of 25.9% (56/216) NICU representatives responded to our questionnaire. A total of 78.2% (43/55) were neurologist and 63% (34/54) held a leadership role. Overall, 80.4% (41/51) had established a standard operating procedure (SOP), largely based on the DGEM-Guideline (53.7%; 22/41), followed by the ESPEN-Guideline (14.6%; 6/41). Upon admission, 36% (18/50) conducted a risk stratification, with 83.3% primarily relying on past medical history (15/18) and clinical gestalt (15/18). Energy expenditure (EE) was measured or calculated by 75% (36/48), with 72.2% (26/36) using pragmatic weight-based equations. Indirect calorimetry was used by 19.4% (7/36). A total of 83.3% (30/36) used the patient's serum glucose level as the primary biomarker to monitor metabolic tolerance. SOPs regarding ICU-Acquired Weakness (ICUAW) were found in 8.9% (4/45) of respondents. Overall, guideline adherence was 47%. In summary, this is, to the best of our knowledge, the first study systematically describing the currently applied concepts of MNT on NICUs. The data reveal great variations in the implementation of guideline recommendations, indicating the need for further research and tailored approaches to optimize nutritional therapy in neurointensive care settings.

Controlling nutritional status score during hospitalization as a predictor of clinical outcome in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is a serious condition with high mortality and a high permanent disability rate. In this study, we examined the association of clinical outcome with the Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score during hospitalization in aSAH patients. A single-center, retrospective observational study was conducted at Gifu University Hospital. Patients transported to the emergency room for aSAH and diagnosed with World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) grade III and IV aSAH between April 2004 and March 2021 were enrolled. A logistic regression model was constructed to evaluate the association of the CONUT score with a modified Rankin scale (mRS) ≥ 3 and delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI). 127 patients diagnosed with WFNS grade III and IV aSAH were analyzed. CONUT score was significantly associated with mRS ≥ 3 during hospitalization. The score obtained by subtracting the CONUT score at admission from the maximum CONUT score was significantly associated with mRS ≥ 3 at discharge. Moreover, the score obtained by subtracting the CONUT score at admission from the maximum CONUT score during the first 14 days was significantly associated with DCI within 14 days from admission. These findings indicate that CONUT score during hospitalization may be a useful daily marker for predicting poor outcomes in aSAH patients.

Nutritional assessment of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage using the modified "Nutrition Risk in the Critically Ill" score, and its association with outcomes

Introduction

Introduction: subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a rare and life-threatening cerebrovascular disease. Mitigating the factors that compromise patient recovery during neurocritical care due to SAH is of clinical benefit. Objectives: to evaluate the nutritional risk of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage using "The Modified Nutrition Risk in the Critically Ill" (mNUTRIC) score, and examine its association with outcomes such as mortality, time of mechanical ventilation, and functional status among survivors. Methods: we designed a cross-sectional study. Patients with SAH admitted to the neurointensive critical care unit (neuroICU) in a tertiary care public hospital were eligible. The inclusion criteria were a minimum stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) of 24 hrs for subarachnoid hemorrhage from a nontraumatic, spontaneously ruptured cerebral aneurysm, and hospital admission within 24 hrs after the onset of symptoms. Results: high nutritional risk as stratified by the mNUTRIC score was associated with discharge type (OR = 0.346; 95 % CI = 0.182-0.650; p = 0.001), acute hypertensive hydrocephalus (OR = 4.371; 95 % CI = 2.283-8.549; p < 0.001), and functional outcome (OR = 0.106; 95 % CI = 0.025-0.0388; p < 0.001). The mNUTRIC score was significantly different among median age (p < 0.001), length of stay in the neuroICU (p = 0.005), SOFA score (p < 0.001), and APACHE II score (p < 0.001) categories. Conclusions: this study demonstrated an association between nutritional risk assessment and outcomes such as length of stay in the neuroICU, type of discharge, functional status, and mortality prediction accuracy.

Enteral Nutrition: Based on the Combination of Nutrison Fibre and TPF-DM with A Marine Biological-Based Active Polysaccharide Preparation

Good nutrition is essential for human growth, wound healing, and spiritual vitality. However, some individuals are unable to eat or experience gastrointestinal problems such as severe diarrhea, vomiting, gastric retention, and even gastrointestinal bleeding for a variety of causes. Therefore, it has important clinical significance to provide patients with required nutrients and maintain the integrity of the body’s tissues and organs through enteral nutrition. Based on this, this work uses a dual carrier of polylactic acid (PLA) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to carry marine biopolysaccharides combined with sodium alginate (PSS) and successfully obtains the intestinal tract based on marine bioactive polysaccharides. Nutritional oral biological preparations (PSS-PLA/PVA) also cooperate with enteral nutritional suspension (diabetes) (TPF-DM) and Nutrison fibre to provide enteral nutritional support for critically ill patients. PSS-PLA/PVA has been shown in clinical studies to increase the effect of enteral nutrition support, the function of intestinal T lymphatic tissue, and the ability to control immunological function, indicating that it is worthy of further clinical development.

Nutrition Management in Patients With Traumatic Brain Injury: A Narrative Review

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of long-term physical and psychological disability and death. In patients with TBI, undernutrition is associated with an increased mortality rate, more infectious complications, and worse neurologic outcomes. Therefore, timely and effective nutritional therapy is particularly crucial in the management of TBI to improve patients' prognoses. This narrative review summarizes the issues encountered in clinical practice for patients with neurotrauma who receive acute and post-acute in-patient rehabilitation services, and it comprehensively incorporates a wide range of studies, including recent clinical practice guidelines (CPGs), with the aim of better understanding the current evidence for optimal nutritional therapy focused on TBI patients. Recent CPGs were reviewed for 6 topics: 1) hypermetabolism and variation in energy expenditure in patients with TBI, 2) delayed gastric emptying and intolerance to enteral nutrition, 3) decision-making on the route and timing of access in patients with TBI who are unable to maintain volitional intake (enteral nutrition versus parenteral nutrition), 4) decision-making on the enteral formula (standard or immune-modulating formulas), 5) glycemic control, and 6) protein support. We also identified areas that need further research in the future.

Hypermagnesemia and feeding intolerance in preterm infants: a cohort study

BACKGROUND

Feeding intolerance (FI) is a common clinical problem in preterm infants often caused by some neonatal disorders and drugs, including antenatal exposure to magnesium sulfate (MgSO₄ ).

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the association between hypermagnesemia at birth and FI in preterm infants during the first 72 hours of life.

METHOD

This was a cohort study conducted with preterm infants < 34 weeks of gestation. Infants presenting at least two of the following signs were considered as having FI: vomiting, abdominal distension, the need for continuous intermittent feeding, and delayed meconium passage. Hypermagnesemia was characterized by umbilical serum magnesium levels >2.5 mEq/l.

RESULTS

251 infants were evaluated. The median birth weight and gestational age were 1390 (IQR 1020 -1070) g and 31 (IQR 28-32) weeks, respectively. The FI rate was 17.5%. The exposure rate to MgSO₄ was similar in the tolerant and intolerant groups (53.1% x 63.6%, p=0.204), but hypermagnesemia was more frequent in the FI group (40.9% x 24.2%, p= 0.024). The univariate analysis showed that infants with hypermagnesemia were two-fold more likely to present FI (OR 2.16 95% CI 1.09-4.26). In the multiple logistic regression analysis, we found that hypermagnesemia was independently associated with FI (OR 2.51 - 95% CI 1.06-5.91), as well as maternal diabetes mellitus (OR 2.56 95% CI 1.07 - 6.14), SNAPPE-II (OR 1.051 95% CI 1.025-1.078), and brain hemorrhage (OR 3.61 95% CI 1.31 - 9.91).

CONCLUSION

In addition to other factors, hypermagnesemia at birth was independently associated with early feeding intolerance in preterm infants. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Enteral Nutrition in the Deployed Critical Care Ground and Air Transport Environment: A Narrative Review

INTRODUCTION

Early and adequate administration of enteral nutrition (EN) improves outcomes in critical care patients. However, the environment where Critical Care Air Transport teams provide patient care poses particular challenges to achieving the same standard of nutritional support readily administered in civilian intensive care units. Providing the highest standard of nutritional care in austere military environments remains the goal for all patients despite inherent challenges. Enteral nutrition, specifically, is not currently a standard of practice in-flight because of concerns for microaspiration and the associated risk of developing ventilator-associated pneumonia. Clinical concern for aspiration combines with the lack of an EN pump approved for use through Safe-to-Fly testing to further decrease the likelihood of initiating EN in trauma patients. Early EN significantly reduces morbidity and mortality risks; therefore, the lack of nutritional support is contrary to established standards of care in civilian intensive care units. Hence, this literature review proposes to provide a clearer understanding of current EN practices as well as any associated risks within the En Route Care system.

METHOD

A narrative review of literature related to EN in military and civilian flight settings using the PRISMA methodology.

RESULTS

A search using the key terms of critical care, air ambulance, EN, nutritional status, and aspiration returned a total of 51,990 articles. A title review followed by a more targeted abstract analysis by the research team generated 39 articles for full-text review. The full-text review then yielded a total of 10 relevant articles for inclusion in the final synthesis table.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the consensus of the literature supports that early evaluation and initiation of standard EN feeding protocols on the ground and during transport improves patient outcomes and enhances injury recovery. However, additional research will determine the current number of patients fed in-flight along with the actual risks and benefits of EN in this population.

Nutrition in the Neurocritical Care Unit: a New Frontier

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This review presents the most current recommendations for providing nutrition to the neurocritical care population. This includes updates on initiation of feeding, immunonutrition, and metabolic substrates including ketogenic diet, cerebral microdialysis (CMD) monitoring, and the microbiome.

RECENT FINDINGS

Little evidence exists to support differences in feeding practices among the neurocritical care population. New areas of interest with limited data include use of immunonutrition, pre/probiotics for microbiome manipulation, ketogenic diet, and use of CMD catheters for substrate utilization monitoring.

SUMMARY

Acute neurologic injury incites a cascade of adrenergic and neuroendocrine events resulting in a pro-inflammatory and hypercatabolic state, which is associated with an increase in morbidity and mortality. Nutritional support provides substrates to mitigate the damaging effects of hypermetabolism. Despite this practice, studies on feeding delivery outcomes remain inconsistent. Guidelines suggest use of early enteral nutrition using standard polymeric formulas. Population heterogeneity, variability in interventions, complexities of the metabolic and inflammatory responses, and paucity of nutrition research in patients requiring neurocritical care have led to controversies in the field. It is imperative that more pragmatic and reproducible research be conducted to better understand underlying pathophysiology and develop interventions that may improve outcomes.

Do neurocritical care units improve outcomes for brain-injured adults: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Neurocritical care is a rapidly developing subspecialty within intensive care medicine which aims to improve outcomes of critically ill neurological patients. This has inspired the formation of specialised intensive care units or services to provide dedicated care of brain-injured patients, as well as new training pathways for physicians. However, expansion has been variable worldwide and it is yet to be determined if there are clear benefits in regard to patient outcomes. We are planning a systematic review with meta-analysis to assess whether the introduction of neurocritical care units or services, or neurointensivists have favourable effects on survival.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

We will include all observational and interventional studies comparing specialised neurocritical care units or services with general or non-specialised units in the care of acutely brain-injured adults. The primary outcome will be all-cause mortality at the longest follow-up, and secondary outcomes will be intensive care unit and hospital length of stay, and functional outcomes. All relevant studies will be identified through database searches. All study selection and data extraction will be conducted by two independent reviewers. We will conduct a random-effects meta-analysis to synthesise evidence for all outcomes. In addition, we will perform a subgroup analysis by disease process. We will assess confidence in the cumulative evidence using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations framework.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

This systematic review and meta-analysis does not require ethical approval. We will publish findings from this systematic review in a peer-reviewed scientific journal and present these at conferences. It will be included in the primary author's higher degree research thesis.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42020177190.

Semi-elemental versus polymeric formula for enteral nutrition in brain-injured critically ill patients: a randomized trial

Background

The properties of semi-elemental enteral nutrition might theoretically improve gastrointestinal tolerance in brain-injured patients, known to suffer gastroparesis. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy and tolerance of a semi-elemental versus a polymeric formula for enteral nutrition (EN) in brain-injured critically ill patients.

Methods

Prospective, randomized study including brain-injured adult patients [Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) ≤ 8] with an expected duration of mechanical ventilation > 48 h. Intervention: an enteral semi-elemental (SE group) or polymeric (P group) formula. EN was started within 36 h after admission to the intensive care unit and was delivered according to a standardized nurse-driven protocol. The primary endpoint was the percentage of patients who received both 60% of the daily energy goal at 3 days and 100% of the daily energy goal at 5 days after inclusion. Tolerance of EN was assessed by the rate of gastroparesis, vomiting and diarrhea.

Results

Respectively, 100 and 95 patients were analyzed in the SE and P groups: Age (57[44–65] versus 55[40–65] years) and GCS (6[3–7] versus 5[3–7]) did not differ between groups. The percentage of patients achieving the primary endpoint was similar (46% and 48%, respectively; relative risk (RR) [95% confidence interval (CI)] = 1.05 (0.78–1.42); p = 0.73). The mean daily energy intake was, respectively, 20.2 ± 6.3 versus 21.0 ± 6.5 kcal/kg/day (p = 0.42). Protein intakes were 1.3 ± 0.4 versus 1.1 ± 0.3 g/kg/day (p < 0.0001). Respectively, 18% versus 12% patients presented gastroparesis (p = 0.21), and 16% versus 8% patients suffered from diarrhea (p = 0.11). No patient presented vomiting in either group.

Conclusion

Semi-elemental compared to polymeric formula did not improve daily energy intake or gastrointestinal tolerance of enteral nutrition.

Trial registration

EudraCT/ID-RCB 2012-A00078-35 (registered January 17, 2012).

Use of Nutrition Risk in Critically Ill (NUTRIC) Scoring System for Nutrition Risk Assessment and Prognosis Prediction in Critically Ill Neurological Patients: A Prospective Observational Study

BACKGROUND

Critically ill patients who are hospitalized in a neurological intensive care unit (NICU) are largely susceptible to nutrition risk. However, only a limited number of studies have investigated the applicable assessment tool in NICUs.

METHODS

This was a prospective observational study conducted at a single-center NICU. A total of 140 adult patients who were hospitalized for >24 hours were enrolled. The Nutritional Risk Screening 2002, Nutrition Risk in the Critically ill (NUTRIC), and modified NUTRIC (mNUTRIC) scores were applied for the assessment of nutrition risk. Analyses of multivariable logistic regression were performed by considering a 28-day mortality as the outcome of interest.

RESULTS

Nutrition risk was commonly identified in NICU patients. Multivariate analysis revealed that age ≥60 years, hospital infection, mechanical ventilation, and high nutrition risk (mNUTRIC score ≥ 5) independently increased 28-day mortality in NICU patients. For subgroups of patients with a prolonged length of stay, high nutrition risk (mNUTRIC score ≥ 5) has always been an independent risk factor of 28-day mortality. Both NUTRIC and mNUTRIC scores were able to predict 28-day mortality, with area under the receiver operating characteristic curves of 0.857 (95% CI, 0.786-0.928) and 0.856 (95% CI, 0.786-0.927), respectively.

CONCLUSION

The mNUTRIC scoring system is not only a useful tool for nutrition risk assessment but also, and more importantly, it is independently related to the risk of 28-day mortality in NICU patients. Therefore, mNUTRIC scoring is an appropriate tool for nutrition risk assessment and prognosis prediction of NICU patients.