Predicting Nutritional Risk in Elderly Patients With Community-Acquired Pressure Injury: A Noninvasive Model...

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Nutritional Science
• Clinical Medicine

Background:

• Elderly patients with Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAPI) face significant nutritional risks.
• Early identification of nutritional risk is crucial for effective management and improved patient outcomes.
• Existing assessment tools may require augmentation for comprehensive risk stratification in this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a predictive model for nutritional risk in elderly CAPI patients.
• To identify core predictors of nutritional risk applicable to community and nursing home settings.
• To validate the predictive accuracy of combined scores for hospitalized CAPI patients.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cross-sectional study of 424 elderly CAPI patients.
• Data collection included demographic, physiological, and blood parameters.
• Patients were stratified by Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS2002) score.

Main Results:

• 69.34% of participants were identified as being at nutritional risk.
• Independent risk factors included age (≥70 years), reduced intake, decreased BMI, Braden score, albumin (ALB), and prealbumin (PA).
• A model combining age, reduced intake, BMI, and Braden score achieved an AUC of 0.816; adding ALB and PA increased AUC to 0.872.

Conclusions:

• Age, reduced intake, BMI, and Braden score effectively predict nutritional risk in elderly CAPI patients in community/nursing home settings.
• Incorporating albumin and prealbumin further enhances predictive accuracy for hospitalized CAPI patients.
• The developed model supports stratified nutritional risk management for elderly CAPI patients.