Mineral Disorders in Adult Inpatients Receiving Parenteral Nutrition. Is Older Age a Contributory Factor?

Parenteral nutrition (PN)-dependent adults and elderly individuals who are admitted to hospital treatment are potentially susceptible to mineral disorder complications due to depleted physiological reserves, loss of lean body mass, and increased fat mass, thus worsening inflammation.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of hypophosphatemia, hypokalemia, and hypomagnesaemia prior and within the first 7 days of PN infusion. Furthermore, whether malnutrition and old age are associated with these disorders was also investigated.

This study included a historical cohort of adult patients, and 1,040 patients whose information was prospectively entered in the database were evaluated.

Of the 781 patients, 27.3% were ≥65 years, 80.9% had undergone surgical treatment, 74.3% were in the intensive care unit, and 17.9% died during the hospitalization period. About 17.1% patients were malnourished. Protein energy malnutrition (PEM) was observed in 31.9% of the elderly patients and 27.1% of adults in general. Hypophosphatemia, hypokalemia, and hypomagnesemia were more prevalent before the start of PN infusion (D0: 214 [18.4%]), and new events were more common during the first 2 days of PN infusion (D1: 283 [23.1%]; D2: 243 [20.1%]. Elderly patients were more susceptible to developing hypophosphatemia (odds ratio [OR]: 1.69; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.29-2.19; p<0.001). Patients with PEM were also more susceptible to hypophosphatemia (OR: 3.75; 95% CI: 1.13-12.47; p=0.036).

Hypophosphatemia, hypokalemia, and hypomagnesemia were frequently observed in hospitalized adults and elderly patients before and particularly during the first 2 days of PN infusion. Elderly patients and patients with PEM are more susceptible to developing hypophosphatemia.