Nutrition care of patients with acute and chronic respiratory failure

Sex differences in the nutritional status and its association with long-term prognosis in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: a prospective cohort study

AIMS

Many studies show the association between malnutrition and poor prognosis in heart failure (HF) patients. Our research aimed to analyse sex differences in patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), emphasizing nutritional status and the influence of selected parameters on the prognosis.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We enrolled 276 consecutive patients diagnosed with HFrEF. Nutritional status was assessed using Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI), and body mass index (BMI). The mean follow-up period was 564.4 ± 346.3 days. The analysed group included 81.2% of men. The median age was 58, interquartile range (IQR) 49-64 years. Among all patients, almost 60% were classified as NYHA III or IV. Half of the participants were at risk of malnutrition, and 2.9% were malnourished. During follow-up, 72 (26.1%) patients died. The female sex was not associated with a higher occurrence of malnutrition (P = 0.99) or nutritional risk (P = 0.85), according to MNA. Coherently, GNRI scores did not differ significantly between the sexes (P = 0.29). In contrast, BMI was significantly higher in males (29.4 ± 5.3 vs. 25.9 ± 4.7; P < 0.001). Impaired nutritional status assessed with any method (MNA, GNRI, BMI) was not significantly associated with a worse prognosis. In multivariable analysis, NYHA class, lower estimated glomerular filtration rate, higher B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), higher N-terminal fragment of proBNP, and higher uric acid were independent of sex and age predictors of all-cause mortality.

CONCLUSION

There were no sex differences in the nutritional status in the HFrEF patients, apart from lower BMI in females. Impaired nutritional status was not associated with mortality in both men and women.

The Relationship Between Prognostic Nutritional Indexes and the Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Purpose

Nutritional status is related to the clinical outcomes of patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). The aim of this study was to investigate the association between nutritional status, measured by the prognostic nutritional index (PNI), and adverse hospitalization outcomes in patients with AECOPD.

Methods

Consecutive AECOPD patients admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University between January 1, 2015 to October 31, 2021 were enrolled. We collected the clinical characteristics and laboratory data of patients. Multivariable logistic regression models were developed to assess the relationship between the baseline PNI and adverse hospitalization outcomes. A generalized additive model (GAM) was used to identify any non-linear relationship. In addition, we performed a subgroup analysis to tested the robustness of the results.

Results

A total of 385 AECOPD patients were involved in this retrospective cohort study. Based on the tertiles of PNI, patients in the lower tertiles of PNI showed more worse outcome incidence (30 [23.6%] versus 17 [13.2%] versus 8 [6.2%]; p < 0.001). Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that the PNI were independently associated with adverse hospitalization outcomes after adjustment for confounding factors (Odds ratio [OR] = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.91 to 0.97, P < 0.0001). After adjusting for confounders, smooth curve fitting showed a saturation effect, suggesting that the relationship between the PNI and adverse hospitalization outcomes was nonlinear. Two-piecewise linear regression model suggested that the incidence of adverse hospitalization outcomes significantly decreased with PNI level up to the inflection point (PNI = 42), and PNI was not associated with adverse hospitalization outcome after that point.

Conclusion

Decreased PNI levels at admission were determined to be associated with adverse hospitalization outcomes in patients with AECOPD. The results obtained in this study may potentially assist clinicians optimize risk evaluations and clinical management processes.

Gastrostomy tubes: Fundamentals, periprocedural considerations, and best practices

Gastrostomy tube placement is a procedure that achieves enteral access for nutrition, decompression, and medication administration. Preprocedural evaluation and selection of patients is necessary to provide optimal benefit and reduce the risk of adverse events (AEs). Appropriate indications, contraindications, ethical considerations, and comorbidities of patients referred for gastrostomy placement should be weighed and balanced. Additionally, endoscopist should consider either a transoral or transabdominal approach is appropriate, and radiologic or surgical gastrostomy tube placement is needed. However, medical history, physical examination, and imaging prior to the procedure should be considered to tailor the appropriate approach and reduce the risk of AEs.

The relationship of the geriatric nutritional risk index to mortality and length of stay in elderly patients with acute respiratory failure: A retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Elderly people with acute respiratory failure (ARF) have prolonged length of hospital stay (LOS) and high mortality rates. Malnutrition is negatively correlated with these LOS and mortality. However, no tools have been used to detect the risk of malnutrition and assist in designing nutritional support for these patients. The geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) is reported as a novel tool for evaluating the risk of malnutrition. The aim of this study is to explore the relationship of the GNRI score with mortality and LOS in elderly patients with ARF.

METHODS

Data of elderly patients diagnosed with ARF were retrieved from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC-III) database. A total of 1250 patients were divided into two groups based on their GNRI score: the malnutrition risk group (GNRI ≤ 98) and no risk group (GNRI > 98). The primary endpoints of this study were hospital mortality and hospital LOS.

RESULTS

The higher GNRI score was associated with lower hospital mortality and shorter hospital LOS. Odds ratio (OR) for hospital mortality of patients with nutritional risk (GNRI ≤ 98) was 1.264 (95% CI:1.067-1.497) in the adjusted model. Patients with GNRI ≤98 had longer hospital LOS (adjusted OR: 1.142, 95%CI: 1.044-1.250) compared with those with GNRI > 98. Subgroup analysis showed that higher GNRI was only significantly associated with lower hospital mortality in the patients that did not undergo mechanical ventilator (MV) treatment (adjusted OR: 0.985, 95% CI: 0.977-0.992, P < 0.01). Kaplan-Meier curve analysis showed that the 90-day survival was significantly lower in the group with nutrition risk (GNRI≤98) compared with the no risk group (GNRI > 98, p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

These findings imply that GNRI is a useful prognostic tool in elderly patients with ARF.

Prognostic impact of malnutrition in elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction

We aimed to investigate the prevalence and the prognostic impact of malnutrition using the geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) in elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We investigated 130 consecutive patients aged ≥ 75 years who were discharged following successful primary coronary intervention between March 2009 and December 2016. The mean age of the patients was 81.5 ± 5.0 years, and 55.4% of them were male. At discharge, the patients' nutritional statuses were evaluated using the GNRI, which were calculated as follows: 14.89 × serum albumin (g/dL) + 41.7 × body mass index/22. The patients were divided into two groups, a low GNRI group (GNRI < 92) with nutrition-related risk and a high GNRI group (GNRI ≥ 92) without nutrition-related risk. The mean GNRI score of all patients was 95.2 ± 11.0, and 46 patients (35.4%) had a low GNRI score. During the mean follow-up of 1030 ± 850 days, the all-cause mortality was significantly higher in the low GNRI group than in the high GNRI group (32.6% vs. 13.1%, p < 0.001), while the event rates of AMI recurrence and hospitalization due to heart failure did not differ significantly between the two groups. Multivariate Cox proportional analysis revealed that low GNRI was a modest but independent predictor of mortality (hazard ratio, 0.94; 95% confidence interval 0.90-0.98; p = 0.01). Among elderly patients with AMI, malnutrition assessed using the GNRI was often encountered and was an independent predictor of long-term mortality.

Predictive Impact of Modified-Prognostic Nutritional Index for Acute Kidney Injury within 1-week after Living Donor Liver Transplantation

Background. Acute kidney injury (AKI) is one of the common complications after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) and is associated with increased mortality and morbidity. The prognostic nutritional index (PNI) has been used as a predictive model for postoperative complications. Here, we create a new predictive model based on the PNI and compared its predictive accuracy to other models in patients who underwent LDLT. Material and Methods: The data from 423 patients were collected retrospectively. The patients were dichotomized into the non-AKI and the AKI groups. Multivariate adjustment for significant postoperative variables based on univariate analysis was performed. A new predictive model was created using the results from logistic regression analysis, dubbed the modified-PNI model (mPNI). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was generated to determine the diagnostic accuracy and cutoff value of individual models. The net reclassification improvement (NRI) and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) were calculated to investigate diagnostic improvement by the mPNI. Results: Fifty-four patients (12.7 %) were diagnosed with AKI within 1-week after LDLT. The mPNI had the highest predictive accuracy (AUC = 0.823). The model of end-stage liver disease (MELD) scores and PNI were 0.793 and 0.749, respectively, and the INR and serum bilirubin were 0.705 and 0.637, respectively. The differences in the AUCs were statistically significant among the mPNI, PNI, INR, and serum bilirubin. The cutoff value for mPNI was 8.7. The NRI was 10.4% and the IDI was 3.3%. Conclusions: The mPNI predicted AKI within 1-week better than other scoring systems in patients who underwent LDLT. The recommended cutoff value of mPNI is 8.7.

Prognostic impact of malnutrition assessed using geriatric nutritional risk index in patients aged ⩾80 years with heart failure

AIMS

Malnutrition in elderly patients is one of the important issues in an aging society. We aimed to investigate the prevalence and prognostic impact of malnutrition assessed using the geriatric nutritional risk index in very elderly patients hospitalized owing to heart failure.

METHODS

We enrolled 213 consecutive patients aged ⩾80 years who were hospitalized with heart failure. The mean age was 87.2 ± 4.9 years, and 43.7% of them were male. The nutritional status on admission was evaluated using the geriatric nutritional risk index, which was calculated as follows: 14.89 × serum albumin (g/dL) + 41.7 × body mass index/22. The patients were divided into two groups, a low geriatric nutritional risk index group (<92) with malnutrition risk and a high geriatric nutritional risk index group (⩾92) without malnutrition risk.

RESULTS

The mean geriatric nutritional risk index of all patients was 90.7 ± 10.6, and 108 patients (50.7%) had low geriatric nutritional risk index. During the 540-day follow-up, the all-cause mortality was significantly higher in the low geriatric nutritional risk index group than in the high geriatric nutritional risk index group (35.7% vs. 12.9%, p < 0.001). The Cox proportional-hazards regression analysis revealed that low geriatric nutritional risk index was an independent predictor of mortality (hazard ratio, 2.28; 95% confidence interval, 1.15-4.49; p = 0.02).

CONCLUSIONS

Low geriatric nutritional risk index on admission was common and was associated with poor prognosis in patients aged ⩾80 years who were hospitalized owing to heart failure.

Prognostic Nutritional Index and the Risk of Mortality in Patients With Acute Heart Failure

Background

Nutritional status has been related to clinical outcomes in patients with heart failure. We assessed the association between nutritional status, indexed by prognostic nutritional index (PNI), and survival in patients hospitalized for acute heart failure.

Methods and Results

A total of 1673 patients (age 76±13 years, 68% men) hospitalized for acute heart failure in a tertiary medical center were analyzed. PNI was calculated as 10×serum albumin (g/dL)+0.005×total lymphocyte count (per mm³). National Death Registry was linked to identify the clinical outcomes of all‐cause and cardiovascular death. With increasing tertiles of PNI, age and N‐terminal probrain natriuretic peptide decreased, and body mass index, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and hemoglobin increased. During a mean follow‐up duration of 31.5 months, a higher PNI tertile was related to better survival free from all‐cause and cardiovascular mortality in the total study population and in participants with either reduced or preserved left ventricular ejection fraction. After accounting for age, sex, estimated glomerular filtration rate, left ventricular ejection fraction, serum sodium level, and on‐admission systolic blood pressure, PNI was independently associated with cardiovascular death and total mortality (hazard ratio per 1 SD of the natural logarithm of the PNI: 0.76 [95% CI, 0.66–0.87] and 0.79 [95% CI, 0.73–0.87], respectively). In subgroup analyses stratified by age, sex, left ventricular ejection fraction, body mass index, or estimated glomerular filtration rate, PNI was consistently related to mortality.

Conclusions

PNI is independently associated with long‐term survival in patients hospitalized for acute heart failure with either reduced or preserved left ventricular ejection fraction.

An evaluation of the safety and efficacy of an anti-inflammatory, pulmonary enteral formula in the treatment of pediatric burn patients with respiratory failure

Respiratory failure is associated with a high mortality rate in burned children. Recently, a specialized pulmonary enteral formula (SPEF) was commercially introduced as an adjunct intervention in acute lung injury management. SPEF contains condition-specific nutrients to modulate the inflammatory response. The study examined SPEF impact in critically ill, pediatric burn patients with respiratory failure. Medical records of acute burn patients admitted December 1997 to October 2006 were reviewed for SPEF treatment. Respiratory and renal indices were compared on the first and final days of SPEF use. Nineteen patients with respiratory failure received SPEF for a mean of 10.8 +/- 0.9 days during their acute burn course. Mean age was 5.3 +/- 1.5 years. Mean total body surface area burn was 44.3 +/- 5.4% with 32.5 +/- 6.4% full thickness. Patients were admitted 2.3 +/- 0.9 days postburn. Significant improvements in peak pressure, PEEP, FiO2, P:F ratio, Pco2, Po2, and ETco2 were noted. Seventeen of the 19 patients survived despite the fact that 9 of the 19 patients developed severe barotrauma requiring multiple tube thoracotomies, and all 19 had extremely poor prognoses at SPEF initiation. Adult SPEF formula for critically ill, pediatric burn patients with respiratory failure is safe and well tolerated. SPEF seems to facilitate recovery from acute lung injury as evidenced by improvements in oxygenation and pulmonary compliance.

Common nutritional issues in pediatric and adult critical care medicine

This article discusses many of the nutritional topics important to the intensivist. Nutritional assessment, substrate immunonutrition, and disease specific issues are presented. Early introduction of enteral feeds and the use of nutritional modulation are emphasized.