Keywords
Nutritional status
Intensive care units
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Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the association between nutritional status and protein intake with clinical outcomes in critically ill patients receiving exclusive enteral nutritional therapy in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Methods: This was a retrospective observational study including adult patients admitted to the ICU who received exclusive enteral nutrition for at least 72 hours. Nutritional status was assessed using Body Mass Index (BMI), and protein adequacy was determined according to the guidelines of the Brazilian Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition. Patients were stratified according to the time required to reach protein targets: within 2 days or in 3 days or more. Student’s t-test and ANOVA were applied for statistical analysis. Results: A total of 206 patients were included, predominantly male (61.17%), with an in-hospital mortality rate of 39.3%. Patients who achieved protein targets within 2 days were younger and had shorter ICU length of stay and reduced duration of invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV). Conversely, longer time to achieve protein adequacy was associated with lower BMI, prolonged ICU stay, and longer duration of IMV. Conclusion: Early protein adequacy significantly influenced clinical outcomes in critically ill patients, indicating that early achievement of protein targets is associated with improved prognosis.
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