Relación de las comorbilidades con el soporte nutricional y los desenlaces en pacientes de la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos del Hospital General Guasmo Sur, 2024.

Abstract

Introduction: Chronic comorbidities and malnutrition have a significant impact on the clinical course of critically ill patients, increasing the risk of complications, prolonged hospital stays and mortality in the ICU. Objective: To evaluate the relationship between comorbidities, nutritional support and clinical outcomes in adult patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at Guasmo Sur General Hospital, 2024. Methodology: An observational, analytical, single-centre study conducted between January and December 2024. The study included 600 adult patients admitted to the ICU who received enteral, parenteral or mixed nutritional support. Demographic, clinical and nutritional variables, as well as clinical outcomes, were analysed using descriptive statistics and chi-square or Fisher’s exact tests, with statistical significance set at p < 0.05. Results: The mean age was 43.5 ± 18.7 years, and males predominated (54.0%). Nutritional risk was present in 60.5% of patients, and enteral nutrition was the predominant form of support (72.8%). The most common comorbidities were diabetes mellitus (26.8%) and hypertension (26.2%). Diabetes mellitus (p < 0.001) and chronic kidney disease (p = 0.034) were significantly associated with delayed initiation of nutritional support. Furthermore, a delay in the initiation of nutrition was significantly associated with higher mortality in the ICU (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease were significantly associated with a delay in the initiation of nutritional support. Furthermore, delayed initiation of nutrition was associated with higher mortality in the ICU. The high prevalence of nutritional risk highlights the importance of implementing strategies for early nutritional assessment and intervention in critically ill patients with comorbidities.