The Relationship Between Malnutrition and Mortality in Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19
Introduction: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 infection, was first reported by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in December 2019 in Wuhan. It is known that the risk of malnutrition adversely affects several clinical...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Galenos Yayinevi
2025-08-01
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| Series: | İstanbul Medical Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.istanbulmedicaljournal.org/articles/the-relationship-between-malnutrition-and-mortality-in-patients-hospitalized-with-covid-19/doi/imj.galenos.2025.55070 |
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| Summary: | Introduction: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 infection, was first reported by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in December 2019 in Wuhan. It is known that the risk of malnutrition adversely affects several clinical outcomes, such as the length of hospitalisation and mortality, in non-COVID-19 cases. Further, if this group of patients needs to be followed up in the intensive care unit (ICU), early diagnosis and rapid intervention are recommended. The aim of our study was to determine the effect of the presence of malnutrition risk on mortality and prognosis in patients hospitalised due to COVID-19.
Methods: One thousand one hundred seventy-seven patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19 and hospitalised after their polyclinics and emergency applications between March 2020 and July 2020 were evaluated. The malnutrition risk of the patients was evaluated using nutritional risk screening, and patients with a score of >3 were considered at risk of malnutrition. The relationship between malnutrition risk and mortality was then evaluated among patients with COVID-19, hospitalised in the service wards and the ICU.
Results: One thousand one hundred seventy-seven patients were eventually evaluated retrospectively. One hundred twenty-three (10.5%) were hospitalized in the ICU on arrival, and 862 (73.2%) were inpatients in the infection clinic. In addition, 120 (10.2%) patients were followed up in the ICU because they required intensive care. Mortality was evaluated in the entire inpatient group, with the number of observed deaths being n=232. The mortality rate was the highest in the intensive care unit (n=76, 32.8%), followed by the infectious diseases service (n=71, 30.6%). When the relationship between malnutrition risk and mortality was evaluated, mortality was found to be significantly higher in the patient group with malnutrition risk (p<0.05). The correlation between malnutrition risk and mortality in patients followed up in the ICU was found to be higher than that in all other groups. In addition, it was observed that the mortality rate of patients found to have a risk of malnutrition at the time of admission to the ICU during follow-up was higher than that of patients in the service wards.
Conclusion: Malnutrition risk is an important indicator for determining the prognosis of hospitalised patients. In our study, the risk of malnutrition increased the risk of mortality and length of hospitalisation among inpatients diagnosed with COVID-19. In our study, the mortality rate among the patient group with malnutrition risk was 42%. Moreover, malnutrition risk and mortality rate were higher in patients hospitalised in the ICU. Nutrition is an integral part of the treatment for COVID-19, as in all critically ill patients. Appropriate nutrition and a strong immune system are important components alongside any medication used to treat COVID-19. Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of malnutrition should be routinely included in the treatment of patients with COVID-19. |
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| ISSN: | 2619-9793 2148-094X |