Use of NRS-2002 and M-NUTRIC score to predict hospital mortality in intensive care unit patients

Many screening tests can be used to assess malnutrition, but to date there is no gold standard screening tool for use in intensive care. ASPEN recommends the use of NRS-2002 and m-NUTRIC in intensive care units. In this study, we aimed to screen for malnutrition using NRS-2002 and m-NUTRIC scores in patients followed up in the intensive care unit, to determine the relationship between malnutrition and hospital mortality, and to evaluate which screening test is more appropriate in the critically ill patient group. Between 01.06.2023 and 31.10.2023, a total of 180 patients older than 18 years of age who stayed for more than 24 hours were included in the prospective study conducted in the Internal Medicine ICU of Kırşehir Ahi Evran University EAH. Of the patients, 48.3% (n=87) were female, 51.7% (n=93) were male, the age range was between 24 and 96 years and the median age was 72±16.7 years. The median NRS-2002 score was 5 (0-7) and the median m-NUTRIC score was 5 (1-9). A high risk for malnutrition was found in 58.3% (n=105) patients according to NRS-2002 and 53.9% (n=97) patients according to m-NUTRIC score. The mortality rate was significantly (p<0.05) higher in patients with high risk (score≥5) according to NRS-2002 and m-NUTRIC score than in the low risk group. Significant [area under the curve 0.694 (0.617-0.772)] efficacy of the NRS-2002 5 cut off value was observed for mortality prediction (sensitivity 77.8%, specificity 61.1%). m-NUTRIC 5 cut off value had significant [area under the curve 0.672 (0.593-0.752)] efficacy (sensitivity 71.1%, specificity 63.3%). NRS-2002 and m-NUTRIC scores had similar performance in predicting hospital mortality. Both nutrition scores can be used in screening for malnutrition and predicting mortality in intensive care units. We think that more large-scale studies are needed in this regard. Key words: NRS-2002, m-NUTRIC, intensive care, nutrition, malnutrition, mortal