Nutritional Assessment: A Primary Component of the Multidimensional Geriatric Assessment in the Intensive Care Unit

Randeep S Jawa; Rajeev B Patel; David H Young

doi:10.1016/j.ccc.2020.08.011

Nutritional Assessment: A Primary Component of the Multidimensional Geriatric Assessment in the Intensive Care Unit

Crit Care Clin. 2021 Jan;37(1):205-219. doi: 10.1016/j.ccc.2020.08.011. Epub 2020 Oct 31.

Authors

Randeep S Jawa¹, Rajeev B Patel², David H Young³

Affiliations

¹ Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, and Emergency Surgery, Department of Surgery, Stony Brook University Renaissance School of Medicine, HSC Level 18, Room 040, Stony Brook, NY 11794-8191, USA. Electronic address: Randeep.jawa@stonybrookmedicine.edu.
² Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, Stony Brook University Renaissance School of Medicine, HSC Level 17, Room 040, Stony Brook, NY 11794-8172, USA.
³ Division of Trauma/Critical Care, Department of Surgery, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA.

PMID: 33190771
DOI: 10.1016/j.ccc.2020.08.011

Abstract

The importance of evaluating and adjusting the nutritional state of critically ill patients has become a core principle of care. This article focuses on tools for the nutritional assessment of geriatric intensive care unit patients, including a review of imaging and other standardized techniques for evaluation of muscle mass, an indicator of malnutrition and sarcopenia. It concludes with a discussion of the interplay of malnutrition, reduced muscle mass/sarcopenia, and frailty. The goal of this multidimensional assessment is to identify those at risk and thereby initiate interventions to improve outcomes.

Keywords: Critically ill; Elderly; Frailty; Geriatric; Intensive Care Unit; Malnutrition; Nutrition; Sarcopenia.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Aged
Geriatric Assessment
Humans
Intensive Care Units
Malnutrition* / diagnosis
Nutrition Assessment
Sarcopenia* / diagnosis