Position paper of the Italian association of medical specialists in dietetics and clinical nutrition (ANSISA) on nutritional management of patients with COVID-19 disease

ABSTRACT

COVID-19 disease is characterized by serious clinical manifestations which could require urgent hospitalization. Prolonged hospitalization, with catabolism and immobilization, induces a decrease in weight and muscle mass which can result in sarcopenia, a condition that impairs respiratory and cardiac function, worsening the prognosis. In this scenario there is an urgent need of nutritional indications aimed to prevent or contrast hospital malnutrition by improving the patient's response to therapy and to facilitate healthcare professionals in managing nutritional interventions on patients, reducing their already high workload due to the state of emergency.