Low calories intake reduces mortality, length of hospital stay among ICU patients

Feeding critically ill patients in intensive care units (ICUs) is challenging as nutritional substances can improve their well-being and LOS in the hospital or can pose severe health outcomes. The researchers aimed to investigate the effects of adopting low caloric intake among patients with vital signs in the nutritional support of critically ill in ICUs with a focus on reducing LOS and mortality rates in hospitals.

For this purpose, the researchers performed the initial literature search on online databases. The network meta-analysis (NMA) was performed per the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses). Data selection and extraction roles were assigned to two independent reviewers.

The study mainly included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) whose abstracts and titles were screened, after which duplicates were excluded. To identify data related to the topic of the study, the remaining eligible studies were subjected to full-text analysis. Analyses were performed using the R software, the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool, and MS Excel.

The inclusion criteria were met by twenty-two studies comprising 9 539 participants and were subjected to the network meta-analysis. Secondary outcomes include clinical outcomes, nosocomial infection, digestive infections, functions, improved quality of life, ventilator days, resulting survival rates, bacteremia, diarrhoea, blood glucose levels, and tube replacement.

The study revealed the following findings:

• In mortality rates, the greatest rank observed corresponded to a reduction of 71%.
• The regression of the effects of low caloric intake explained a 5.29% variation in LOS.
• A weak positive correlation was found between LOS and low caloric intake among critically ill patients in ICUs.
• Low caloric intake decreased mortality rates and lowered LOS.

"Our findings have clinical implications for clinicians in the ICU, who should consider the development of individualised nutritional plans for critically ill patients," the researchers wrote. "Moreover, it is crucial to regularly monitor nutritional intake and response."

"Healthcare providers should closely monitor patients' vital signs, nutritional status, and clinical outcomes," the researchers concluded.

Reference:

Jiang, Qidong, and Lingxiao Duan. "Effect of Adopting Low Calories On Patients' Vital Signs in the Nutritional Support of Critically Ill Patients in the ICU: a Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis." Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 2023.