Nutrition in ICU Calorie Count

Nutritional status in critically ill patients can be difficult to assess. Anthropometric measurements (eg. skin fold thickness and mid-arm circumference) are commonly used to assess populations but are not particularly useful in individuals. Biochemical tests also have their limitations: albumin...

• Critically ill patients are susceptible to malnutrition due to their condition upon ICU admission and subsequent physiological changes. Assessing nutritional status involves subjective global assessments, nutrition risk screening, and short-form assessments, considering patient age, disease severity, chronic illnesses, and oral intake habits. These assessments, combined with evaluations of muscle mass through mid-upper arm circumference measurements, ultrasound, CT scans, and MRI, provide a comprehensive understanding of the patient's nutritional state.