Abstract
Background
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted major challenges with usual nutrition care processes, leading to reports of malnutrition and nutrition-related issues in these patients.
Objectives
To describe nutrition-related service delivery practices across hospitalisation in critically ill patients admitted to Australian intensive care units (ICU) with COVID-19 in the initial pandemic phase.
Methods
Multi-centre (nine site) observational study in Australia, linked with a national registry of critically ill patients with COVID-19. Adult patients with COVID-19 who were discharged to an acute ward following ICU admission were included over a 12-month period. Data are presented as n (%), median (interquartile range [IQR]), Odds Ratio (95% Confidence Interval (CI).
Results
A total of 103 patients were included. Oral nutrition was the most common mode of nutrition (93 (93%)). In the ICU there were 53 (52%) patients seen by a dietitian (median 4 [2-8] occasions) and malnutrition screening occurred in 51 (50%) patients most commonly with the Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST), (50 (98%)). The odds of receiving a higher MST score increased by 36% for every screening in ICU (1st to 4th, OR 1.39 (95% CI: 1.05-1.77) P=0.018) (indicating increasing risk of malnutrition). On the ward, 51 (50.5%) patients were seen by a dietitian (median time to consult 44 [22.5-75] hours post ICU discharge). The odds of dietetic consult increased by 39% every week while on the ward (OR 1.39 (1.03-1.89), p=0.034). Patients who received mechanical ventilation (MV) were more likely to receive dietetic input than those who never received MV.
Conclusions
During the initial phases of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, approximately half of the patients included were seen by a dietitian. Increased number of malnutrition screens were associated with a higher risk score in ICU and likelihood of dietetic consult increased if patients received MV and as length of ward stay increased.
Author statement
E Ridley and L Chapple were responsible for conceptualisation, data curation, formal analysis, methodology, project administration, and original draft. Campbell, C Dux, S Ferrie, K Fetterplace, M Jamei, and E Osland were responsible for project administration, investigation, and writing – review and editing. K Ainscough, A Burrell, and A Nichol were responsible for data curation, resources, and writing – review and editing. V King was responsible for project administration and writing – review and editing. A Sepa Neto and E Paul was responsible for formal analysis and writing – review and editing. M J Summers was responsible for project administration, investigation, and writing – review and editing. A Marshall and A Udy were responsible for formal analysis, methodology, and writing – review and editing
Introduction
The potential impact of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic on the critical care medical and nursing workforce, and availability of critical care equipment in Australia and New Zealand were quickly and extensively quantified.
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Surge capacity of intensive care units in case of acute increase in demand caused by COVID-19 in Australia.
However, data providing insight into the same projections for Allied Health is lacking.
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Surge capacity of intensive care units in case of acute increase in demand caused by COVID-19 in Australia.
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Projection of nutrition care work process is important due to the potential for significant disruption to these processes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Initial concerns related to staff safety and pressure on the hospital system required urgent and rapid identification of necessary resources.
[1]- Litton E.
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Surge capacity of intensive care units in case of acute increase in demand caused by COVID-19 in Australia.
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A critical care pandemic staffing framework in Australia.
As the pandemic has progressed, concerns have changed to the management of high rates of staff sickness, burnout, and continued pressure on the hospital system as usual operating processes return.
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Nutrition is a universal aspect of care provided for hospitalised patients, including the critically ill. As with many aspects of healthcare, standard care nutrition processes were scrutinised for potential transmission risk to patients and staff, including food service delivery, a reduction in face-to-face contact with patients and measurement of gastric residual volumes (GRVs) due to possible risk of virus within gastric aspirate.
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Nutrition management for critically and acutely unwell hospitalised patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Australia and New Zealand.
There were also concerns about symptoms at presentation with COVID-19 that might impact ability to provide nutrition including diarrhoea and vomiting.
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Nutrition management for critically and acutely unwell hospitalised patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Australia and New Zealand.
Remote nutrition consultations were increased, major challenges were uncovered in food service delivery and major stock shortages of many medical nutrition products and equipment required for nutrition provision were experienced.
[6]- Chapple L.S.
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Globally, these issues have led to increased reports of malnutrition and nutrition-related issues in hospitalised and critically ill patients with COVID-19.
7,[8]- Handu D.
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While there have been efforts to provide guidance around clinical staffing and workforce management during the pandemic, the provision of nutrition care has not been quantified in Australia.
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,[9]Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society. ANZICS COVID-19 Guidelines. Melbourne: ANZICS; 2021.
The aim of this paper was to describe nutrition-related service delivery processes across hospitalisation in critically ill patients admitted to Australian ICUs with COVID-19 in the initial phases of the pandemic.
Methods
This multi-centre observational study was conducted at nine sites in Australia and linked data from an existing observational study investigating clinical care of patients with COVID-19 (Short Period Incidence Study of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SPRINT‐SARI) (
https://www.anzics.com.au/current-active-endorsed-research/sprint-sari/). Patients were included if they were an adult (≥18years) with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis (PCR positive), admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) for >24h, and discharged to an acute ward (with the exception of palliative care) over a 12-month recruitment period from 1 March 2020 until 1 March 2021. Ethics approval was obtained from The Alfred Health Human Research Ethics Committee under the National Mutual Acceptance scheme for single ethical review for multi‐centre studies (Approval number 63512) and individual site governance was obtained. The study was deemed low risk and consent was not required. During the data collection period, 525 patients with COVID-19 were discharged alive from ICU in Australia from all participating sites (SPRINT-SARI Australia). From the nine SPRINT-SARI sites who also collected data for this study, there were 134 patients discharged alive (representing 77% data capture). Participating sites are listed in supplementary files.
The
apriori defined objectives of this study were:
- 1.
Report nutrition service elements within ICU dietetic consultations, route of nutrition and malnutrition screening processes
- 2.
Report on nutrition practices in the prone position including management of gastric intolerance (due to the early reports of gastric tolerance issues with COVID-19)
- 3.
Report on nutrition service elements on the ward following ICU discharge such as dietitian consultations, malnutrition screening and discharge processes.
Due to the number of patients who never received mechanical ventilation (MV) in our population, the investigators decided post-hoc to compare nutrition service process between patients who never received MV and those who did.
Data collection
Data obtained from the SPRINT-SARI database are listed in the supplementary files. For each patient, additional data were collected at each site at the following timepoints: once in ICU; weekly on the ward; and once at ICU and hospital discharge. Data variables collected in ICU included the use of prone positioning, associated nutrition management strategies for enteral nutrition (EN) intolerance and details around gastric residual volume (GRV) limits for patients without COVID-19 and for those with COVID-19 to allow for comparison of any differences. Variables collected both in ICU and on the ward included: frequency of dietetic review; malnutrition screening and assessment; modes of nutrition used; and interventions at hospital discharge as documented in the patient record. Sites were not provided with any guidance regarding their practice, with data collected representing clinical practice within the available resources at the time.
Statistical analyses
Continuous data are summarised using mean ± standard deviation (SD) or median [Interquartile range (IQR)] according to data type and distribution. Categorical data are presented as counts (n) and percentages (%). The odds of dietetic consult over time was determined using logistic regression, whereas the odds of receiving a higher MST score over screening occurrence was assessed by ordinal logistic regression, with results reported as odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Changes in upper GRV between COVID-19 positive and non-COVID-19 positive patients were assessed using paired t-test. Comparisons in some variables were made between those who had received MV at any time to day 14 to those who never received any MV in ICU for dietetic input, malnutrition screening and nutrition handover and discharge process. A two-sided p value <0.05 indicated statistical significance. All analyses were performed with SAS software version 9.4 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA).
Discussion
This is the only paper to describe nutrition care process across hospitalisation for survivors of COVID-19 admitted to the ICU in Australia and one of few published internationally to provide specific data on the post-ICU period. In ICU, half of patients were seen by a dietitian and half were screened for malnutrition in ICU, with the risk of malnutrition increasing by the number of screens. Those who received MV at any timepoint were more likely to receive dietetic input than those who never received MV and a quarter of patients were placed in the prone position; the GRV limit was lower in patients with COVID compared to those without and EN delivery issues were frequent. On the ward, patients were more likely to be seen by a dietitian as weeks progressed and half of the patients were screened for malnutrition but risk did not increase as screens increased. More patients were noted to be malnourished on the ward compared to ICU despite the fact that fewer ward patients underwent a nutritional assessment.
In ICU, we observed that oral nutrition was the route of nutrition most often provided, and those who were never MV (the majority of whom ate orally) received less dietetic input across ICU and the ward than those who did receive MV. Compared to a large UK dataset of 252 patients (including 58 on VV ECMO), EN was used as the mode of nutrition in our population less frequently.
[10]- Hardy G.
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On the ward and after ICU discharge, lower rates of dietitian assessment were observed in the post ICU period when compared to two recent UK datasets;
[10]- Hardy G.
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however, we did observe that assessment frequency increased in our study with a longer length of stay. Approximately 50% of patients in our study were screened for malnutrition in ICU and on the ward; this is similar to pre-pandemic screening rates in a study including 68 hospitals from 2008 where approximately 50% of patients were also screened for malnutrition.
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Higher rates of dietetic referral at hospital discharge were also observed in both UK studies compared to our findings.
[10]- Hardy G.
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Nutrition support practices across the care continuum in a single centre critical care unit during the first surge of the COVID-19 pandemic - A comparison of VV-ECMO and non-ECMO patients.
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These differences may reflect a more acutely ill population, a difference in available services and staff during the pandemic according to location and changes in the model of care such as increased remote working. It may also represent historical practice in dietetic delivery where patients who eat orally within ICU and in the post-ICU period are not seen as a priority. Previous work in patients with traumatic brain injury has indicated that dietitians spend just 20% of their time managing patients that eat orally in the post-ICU period.
[13]- Chapple L.S.
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Nutrition guidelines for critically ill adults admitted with COVID-19: Is there consensus?.
There is a growing body of evidence indicating that critically ill patients who receive only oral diets have lower energy and protein intakes compared to those who receive artificial nutrition therapy; it may be that more dietetic input is required in this population (not less) and this should be a focus for future research.
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, 15Merriweather J, Smith P Fau - Walsh T, Walsh T. Nutritional rehabilitation after ICU - does it happen: a qualitative interview and observational study. (1365-2702 (Electronic)).
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Measuring nutrition-related outcomes in a cohort of multi-trauma patients following intensive care unit discharge.
There exists one Australian-based guideline to inform nutrition care for critically ill patients with COVID-19 which was rapidly developed early in the pandemic. Some aspects of care for which data were available in our study are in line with the recommendations within this guideline, whereas others were not aligned with recommendations.
[6]- Chapple L.S.
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Nutrition management for critically and acutely unwell hospitalised patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Australia and New Zealand.
This guideline recommends that malnutrition screening is maintained in patients who are considered at high nutrition risk and that nutrition assessment occurs within 48 hours of ICU discharge in those that are deemed at nutrition risk. In our dataset, malnutrition screening occurred in just 50% of the patients, while dietetic assessment occurred within this timeframe, at a median 44 [22.5-75] hours after ICU discharge. Internationally, six different guidelines for COVID-19 recommend malnutrition screening in patients with COVID-19.
[13]- Chapple L.S.
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Compared to other data, lower rates of malnutrition were observed in our population;
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it is unclear if screening in our population did not occur due to inadequate staffing, a perception that it was not required, or other issues related to workforce (e.g. remote working). Due to the low rates of screening, it is possible that more patients were malnourished (pre-existing or developed in hospital) but this was not captured.
Future work should focus on preparation for further pandemics, including obtaining reliable and detailed data about the allied health workforce.
1- Litton E.
- Bucci T.
- Chavan S.
- et al.
Surge capacity of intensive care units in case of acute increase in demand caused by COVID-19 in Australia.
, 2- Ridley E.J.
- Freeman-Sanderson A.
- Haines K.J.
Surge capacity for critical care specialised allied health professionals in Australia during COVID-19.
, 3- Marshall A.P.
- Austin D.E.
- Chamberlain D.
- et al.
A critical care pandemic staffing framework in Australia.
This should include a more detailed understanding of successful models of care, determination of ratios for Allied Health staff in critical care, and planning for equipment to ensure the sickest patients can continue to receive quality nutrition care in a pandemic situation.
1- Litton E.
- Bucci T.
- Chavan S.
- et al.
Surge capacity of intensive care units in case of acute increase in demand caused by COVID-19 in Australia.
, 2- Ridley E.J.
- Freeman-Sanderson A.
- Haines K.J.
Surge capacity for critical care specialised allied health professionals in Australia during COVID-19.
, 3- Marshall A.P.
- Austin D.E.
- Chamberlain D.
- et al.
A critical care pandemic staffing framework in Australia.
Communication and the appropriate way to communicate with the multidisciplinary team regarding nutrition management during a pandemic should be determined; failure to communicate and adequately handover at key transition periods such as ICU to ward transfer has been shown in general critical care populations to be a barrier to optimal nutrition care.
[15]Merriweather J, Smith P Fau - Walsh T, Walsh T. Nutritional rehabilitation after ICU - does it happen: a qualitative interview and observational study. (1365-2702 (Electronic)).
Based on our observations, we recommend that critically ill patients with COVID-19 continue to be screened and assessed for malnutrition, with a focus on those who have a prolonged length of ICU stay who are likely to be at the greatest risk for the development of malnutrition. This is in keeping with current Australian-based guidelines for nutrition care of critically ill patients with COVID-19.
[6]- Chapple L.S.
- Fetterplace K.
- Asrani V.
- et al.
Nutrition management for critically and acutely unwell hospitalised patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Australia and New Zealand.
Limitations to our work include that the data were collected in the initial phases of the pandemic in Australia, across a number of COVID-19 waves; patient numbers in subsequent waves have been larger, placing an increased burden on the healthcare system and the emergence of new COVID-19 variants mean clinical course and treatment may have changed.
[22]Begum H, Neto AS, Alliegro P, et al. People in intensive care with COVID-19: demographic and clinical features during the first, second, and third pandemic waves in Australia. LID - 10.5694/mja2.51590 [doi]. (1326-5377 (Electronic)).
The project was developed and conducted very rapidly due to the critical nature of the early pandemic; this means that some data, although important, could not be captured, such as quantification of nutritional intake and some variables may have been subjectively determined (although a data dictionary was provided). Moreover, we did not capture 100% of the patients eligible at participating sites and we are not able to determine why this may have occurred. It is possible that workload changes due to the pandemic and reduced staffing meant that some patients were missed and that aspects of care that normally happen could not happen and we were unable to capture this (eg, under reporting of malnutrition risk due to lack of screening). Interpretation of our data should occur with the knowledge that our study included only patients who survived their ICU admission and the observational nature of the data may lead to bias or confounders that can not be controlled for. Strengths of our work include the multi-centre design across a number of geographical regions in Australia, linkage with an existing dataset to reduce data burden on site clinicians and that it is the only Australian data available. These experiences may assist in developing service provision models for future pandemics.
Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
January 10,
2023
Received in revised form:
December 1,
2022
Received:
August 14,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Accepted ManuscriptCopyright
Crown Copyright © 2023 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Australian College of Critical Care Nurses Ltd.