Impact of Nutritional Status on Prognosis in Non-critically ill Patients with COVID-19 Pneumonia

Objective: The study assessed the nutritional status of non-critically ill coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) patients with pneumonia using the nutritional risk screening 2002 (NRS-2002) score and evaluate ýts impact on prognosis.
Material and Methods: The clinical presentation of COVID-19 disease varies widely from asymptomatic or mild upper respiratory infection to severe life-threatening pneumonia and respiratory failure. Malnutrition negatively affects impair prognosis in COVID-19 patients, but few studies have evaluated the prognostic value of nutritional risk in COVID-19. In this retrospective observational study, non-critically ill COVID-19 patients who were divided into two groups considering their nutritional risk (NRS-2002 score < or ≥3) were compared to each other. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 22 (Chicago, IL, USA).
Results: A total of 142 non-critically ill patients with COVID-19 were included in the study. The patients with the nutritional risk (NRS-2002 score ≥3) were older and had higher mortality and intensive care unit (ICU) requirement rates than those without the nutritional risk. The groups did not differ regarding gender distribution, body mass index, and length of hospital stay. Compared with survivors, patients who died (n=11, 7.75%) were older and had significantly higher NRS-2002 scores and C-reactive protein levels and lower oxygen saturation and albumin level.
Conclusion: The NRS-2002 test is a practical tool that can help assess the need for ICU admission and mortality in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. The application of the test early during the disease should be considered for risk assessment, particularly in elderly patients.