Relevance of non-nutritional calories by propofol in Covid-19 critically ill patients

ABSTRACT

Rationale Overfeeding in critically ill patients is associated with many complications. Propofol provide non-nutritional calories, potentially causing overfeeding. Patients with COVID-19 in the ICU need a large amount of sedation and Propofol is one of the most widely used drug. Methods: We retrospectively studied 51 adult mechanically ventilated intensive care unit (ICU) patients with COVID-19 receiving enteral nutrition. We collected and analyzed demographic, nutritional parameters, and dosage of Propofol used. Descriptive data were reported as means and s.d. or median and interquartile range (IQR) in case of skewed distributions, frequencies and percentages or ranges (minimum–maximum). Results: Of the 51 critically ill patients with COVID-19, 76% of patients received propofol during hospitalization. The mean age was 66 years old (SD ± 14) and 37 (73%) were men;34 (66 %) are overweight or obese. An adequacy of 88% and 86% of protein and energy goals, respectively, were achieved. Among patients with propofol (N = 39) administration, median intake from propofol was 260 (IQR 20-594) kcal. The proportion of calories from propofol was 15% (SD± 8) and mean duration of use was 8 days (SD± 5.5). The length of stay in the ICU was 18 (SD ± 11) days on average and 14 (27%) died. Conclusion: The mean proportion of non-nutritional calories in patients who receive propofol is low. However, it can reach more than 500 kcal/ day in some patients. Patients must have close monitoring in order to prevent overfeeding. Disclosure of Interest None declared