Impact of COVID-19 on Short- and Medium-Term Prescription of Enteral Nutrition in the General Population vs. Older People in the Community of Madrid, Spain.

We aimed to analyse the impact of COVID-19 during 2020 and 2021 on the prescription of enteral nutritional support and its expenditure in the Community of Madrid, Spain, compared to pre-pandemic data from 2016 in the general population vs. elderly. We analysed official electronic prescriptions of all public hospitals of the Community of Madrid. The population over 75 years of age have the higher prescription of nutritional supplements (p < 0.001 vs. other age groups), with no differences between the 45-64 age group compared to the 65-74 age group (χ2 = 3.259, p = 0.196). The first wave of COVID-19 or the first time there was a real awareness of the virus in Spain is similar in a way to the first peak of prescription of enteral nutrition in March 2020. The second peak of prescription was observed in the over 75 age group in July 2020, being more pronounced in December 2020 and March-April of the following year (F = 7.863, p = 0.041). The last peaks correspond to summer 2021 and autumn of the same year (p = 0.031-year 2021 vs. 2020, p = 0.011-year 2021 vs. 2019), where a relationship between increased prescription of enteral nutrition and COVID-19 cases is observed. High-protein and high-calorie dietary therapies were the most prescribed in patients with or without diabetes. All of this entailed higher cost for the Community of Madrid. In conclusion, COVID-19 significantly affected the prescription of nutritional support, especially in the population over 75 years of age.

Early corticosteroids are associated with lower mortality in critically ill patients with COVID-19: a cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) have a high fatality rate likely due to a dysregulated immune response. Corticosteroids could attenuate this inappropriate response, although there are still some concerns regarding its use, timing, and dose. METHODS: This is a nationwide, prospective, multicenter, observational, cohort study in critically ill adult patients with COVID-19 admitted into Intensive Care Units (ICU) in Spain from 12th March to 29th June 2020. Using a multivariable Cox model with inverse probability weighting, we compared relevant outcomes between patients treated with early corticosteroids (before or within the first 48 h of ICU admission) with those who did not receive early corticosteroids (delayed group) or any corticosteroids at all (never group). Primary endpoint was ICU mortality. Secondary endpoints included 7-day mortality, ventilator-free days, and complications. RESULTS: A total of 691 patients out of 882 (78.3%) received corticosteroid during their hospital stay. Patients treated with early-corticosteroids (n = 485) had lower ICU mortality (30.3% vs. never 36.6% and delayed 44.2%) and lower 7-day mortality (7.2% vs. never 15.2%) compared to non-early treated patients. They also had higher number of ventilator-free days, less length of ICU stay, and less secondary infections than delayed treated patients. There were no differences in medical complications between groups. Of note, early use of moderate-to-high doses was associated with better outcomes than low dose regimens. CONCLUSION: Early use of corticosteroids in critically ill patients with COVID-19 is associated with lower mortality than no or delayed use, and fewer complications than delayed use.