Abstract
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: In intensive care unit (ICU) patients, comorbidities, age, and nutritional status may affect mortality and different scores assess nutritional status. The Nutrition Risk in Critically Ill (NUTRIC) score incorporates IL-6, age, APACHE II, SOFA score, the number of comorbidities, and time to ICU admission. A high score (6-10) indicates a high malnutrition risk. The modified NUTRIC Score (mNUTRIC score) does not include IL-6 and scores of 5-9 indicate a high malnutrition risk. In the Nutritional Risk Screening (NRS 2002) score, malnutrition is graded as none, mild, moderate, or severe, and a score of ≥3 indicates malnutrition risk. Our objective was to examine the association of mortality with the mNUTRIC and NRS 2002 scores on the first day of admission to the ICU. METHODS: Our observational, prospective study was conducted with 50 ICU patients between November 2018 to January 2019 mNUTRIC and NRS 2002 scores were recorded at admission and their associations with mortality were analyzed. The duration of mechanical ventilation and length of ICU stay were compared between high and low risk patients. RESULTS: The NRS 2002 and mNUTRIC scores did not differ in their association with mortality. The high-risk group according to the NRS 2002 had significantly longer(p=0.048) mechanical ventilation duration than the low-risk group. CONCLUSION: The mNUTRIC score was used instead of the NUTRIC score due to infeasibility of IL-6 monitoring. The NRS 2002 and mNUTRIC scores did not differ in their association with mortality. Both scores may be recommended for routine use in the ICU.