Impact of protein intake and nutritional status on the clinical outcome of critically ill patients

ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate the association of nutritional status and protein intake with the clinical outcomes of critically ill patients receiving enteral nutrition therapy in an intensive care unit. Methods: A retrospective observational analytical study was performed by collecting secondary data recorded in medical records of patients ≥ 18 years of age who were admitted to the intensive care unit and who received exclusive enteral nutrition therapy for at least 72 hours in 2017. Nutritional status was assessed by body mass index and arm circumference. For the estimation of protein requirements, the recommendation of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition was considered. Nutritional adequacy was assessed by the daily collection of prescribed and administered enteral formula. In the analyses, parametric and nonparametric tests were used, and significance was set at p