PD308 - ASSOCIATION BETWEEN EARLY NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT AND CLINICAL OUTCOMES IN CRITICALLY ILL OBSTETRIC PATIENTS

PD308

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN EARLY NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT AND CLINICAL OUTCOMES IN CRITICALLY ILL OBSTETRIC PATIENTS

D. Yánez^1,*, L. Gonzalez¹, N. Cool², V. Villamar², J. Abrigo², P. Gruezo³

¹Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil, ²Hospital General Guasmo Sur, ³Instituto Nacional de Investigación en Salud Pública- INSPI “Dr. Leopoldo Izquieta Pérez”, Guayaquil, Ecuador

Rationale: Critically ill obstetric patients are predominantly affected by hypertensive and hemorrhagic complications, conditions that may influence both metabolic demands and response to nutritional support. However, the impact of early nutritional intervention within these specific pathological contexts remains unclear.

Methods: A single-center analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in critically ill obstetric patients admitted to an ICU in Ecuador (2024). Adults (≥18 years) with ICU stay <24 hours receiving nutritional support were included. Early nutrition was defined as initiation >48 hours. Associations with clinical outcomes were assessed using bivariate tests (Chi-square/Fisher, t-test/Mann–Whitney), with p<0.05 considered significant.

Results: A total of 57 patients were analyzed (mean age 26.6 ± 5.3 years), predominantly with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (96.5%), followed by obstetric hemorrhage (3.5%). Early nutritional support was implemented in most cases. Overall ICU mortality was low and did not differ between groups (4.1% vs 0%, p<0.05). However, early nutritional support was significantly associated with a higher need for mechanical ventilation (22.4% vs 0%, p<0.05) and longer ICU stay (4.0 vs 2.7 days, p<0.05), while no differences were observed in acute renal failure (p<;0.05). These findings suggest that early nutritional support was preferentially initiated in patients with more severe obstetric conditions, particularly hypertensive disorders, reflecting a higher baseline clinical complexity.

Conclusion: Early nutritional support was not associated with reduced ICU mortality and was linked to higher ventilation use and longer ICU stay, likely reflecting greater baseline severity. These findings emphasize the need for severity-adjusted evaluation of nutritional strategies in this population.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared