Nutritional practice in critically ill COVID-19 patients: A multicenter ambidirectional cohort study in Wuhan and Jingzhou

Background and Objectives: The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic is spreading all over the world. With the number of cases increasing rapidly, the epidemiological data on the nutritional practice is scarce. In this study, we aim to describe the clinical characteristics and nutritional practice in a cohort of critically ill COVID-19 patients. Methods and Study Design: This is a multicenter, ambidirectional cohort study conducted at 11 hospitals in Hubei Province, China. All eligible critical COVID-19 patients in the study hospital intensive care units at 00:00, March 6th, 2020, were included. Data collection was performed via written case report forms. Results: A total of 44 patients were identified and enrolled, of whom eight died during the 28-day outcome follow-up period. The median interval between hospital admission and the study day was 24 (interquartile range, 1326) days and 52.2% (23 of 44) of patients were on invasive mechanical ventilation. The median nutrition risk in critically ill (mNUTRIC) score was 3 (interquartile range, 2-5) on the study day. During the enrolment day, 68.2% (30 of 44) of patients received enteral nutrition (EN), while 6.8% (3 of 44) received parenteral nutrition (PN) alone. Nausea and aspiration were uncommon, with a prevalence of 11.4% (5 of 44) and 6.8% (3 of 44), respectively. As for energy delivery, 69.7% (23 of 33) of patients receiving EN and/ or PN were achieving their prescribed targets. Conclusions: The study showed that EN was frequently applied in critical COVID-19 patients. Energy delivery may be suboptimal in this study requiring more attention.