Prone Position: Achieving Nutritional Goals

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Critically ill patients in the prone position had longer hospital stays and higher mortality rates, while being more likely to initiate and remain on enteral nutrition for a longer period. However, no significant differences were observed in the time to achieve protein and caloric goals compared to those in the supine position.

677 patients were included and 35.4% were placed in the prone position.

Pronated patients had a higher prevalence of obesity (p=0.005), pressure ulcers (p<0.001), required more mechanical ventilation (p<0.001) and renal replacement therapy (p=0.004), had longer hospital length of stay (p<0.001) and higher mortality rate (p<0.001). They required enteral nutrition more frequently and remained on this therapy for a longer duration, despite having similar caloric and protein targets. No significant differences were found in the ability to achieve nutritional goals between pronated and non-pronated patients.

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