The Nutritional Status of Patients Hospitalized in the ICUs of Iranian Hospitals: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: Malnutrition is so common among hospitalized patients, especially those in intensive care units (ICUs). Providing adequate nutritional support for these patients is of utmost significance.Aim: The present study was conducted with aim to investigate the nutritional status of patients hospitalized in the ICUs of Iranian hospitals.Method: This systematic review was performed according to recommendations from the Cochrane Handbook. A search was conducted on Medline, Web of Sciences, PubMed, Scopus, and SID databases to find the articles on nutritional support for ICU patients hospitalized in Iran until April 9, 2023, using the keywords of "intensive care unit" OR "ICU" AND "nutritional support" and "Iran".Results: Finally, 19 original, cross-sectional, prospective cohort, and retrospective articles conducted on human samples were entered in this study. Except for one study, all articles reported that the dietary intake was significantly lower among ICU admitted patients. Nutrition Risk in Critically Ill score, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE II), Nutritional Risk Screening-2002 (NRS), and Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) measurement tools were used to predict the rate of malnutrition among the patients. Recorded reports indicate low calorie and nutrient intake among patients during ICU stay.Implications for Practice: The analyzed hospitals have unsuitable and inadequate nutritional care services. In addition, the patient's intake of calories, protein, and other daily nutrients was significantly lower than the recommended amount leading to a cascade of undesirable patient outcomes.

Keywords

• enteral nutrition
• intensive care unit
• iran
• nutritional support
• parenteral nutrition