Clinical Outcomes Associated with Parenteral Nutrition Caloric Provision in Geriatric Patients with Infectious...

Area of Science:

• Geriatric Medicine
• Gastroenterology
• Clinical Nutrition

Background:

• Malnutrition is a significant factor in adverse outcomes for geriatric patients.
• Infectious colitis often necessitates parenteral nutrition (PN) due to dehydration and poor oral intake.
• Optimal caloric thresholds for PN in geriatric patients with infectious colitis are not well-established.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between parenteral nutrition (PN) caloric thresholds and hospitalization duration in geriatric patients with infectious colitis.
• To identify risk factors for prolonged hospitalization in this patient population.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective observational study of 278 geriatric patients (≥65 years) admitted with infectious colitis.
• Patients were categorized based on daily PN caloric intake: >1000 kcal/day or ≤1000 kcal/day.
• Logistic regression analysis was employed to determine risk factors for prolonged hospitalization (>4 days).

Main Results:

• Patients receiving >1000 kcal/day PN experienced a significantly shorter mean length of stay (3.8 days) compared to those receiving ≤1000 kcal/day (4.2 days; p=0.03).
• Inadequate caloric intake, admission from long-term care, elevated ESR, and lymphopenia were independently associated with prolonged hospitalization.
• No significant difference in in-hospital mortality was observed between the PN caloric intake groups.

Conclusions:

• Adequate PN supplementation exceeding 1000 kcal/day is associated with a reduced hospital stay in geriatric patients diagnosed with infectious colitis.
• Optimizing PN caloric delivery may be a key strategy to improve clinical outcomes and reduce healthcare resource utilization in this vulnerable population.