Title | Could nutritional and functional status serve as prognostic factors for COVID-19 in the elderly? | ||
Author | Lidoriki, Irene; Frountzas, Maximos; Schizas, Dimitrios | ||
Journal | Med Hypotheses | Publication Year/Month | 2020-Nov |
PMID | 32512494 | PMCID | PMC7264929 |
Affiliation + expend | 1.First Department of Surgery, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Laikon General Hospital, Athens, Greece. |
Geriatric patients seem to be the most vulnerable group in COVID-19. These patients are usually characterized by impaired mobilization and malnutrition. In addition, obesity has been correlated with increased mortality rates after COVID-19 infection, highlighting the role of nutrition in prognosis of COVID-19 as well. In the past, several indices of nutritional status (GNRI) and functional status (ECOG performance status, Barthel Index, Handgrip Strength) have demonstrated a prognostic ability for hospitalized patients with influenza-like respiratory infections from coronavirus, metapneumovirus, parainfluenza and rhinovirus. Our hypothesis suggests that the previously mentioned nutritional and functional status indices, combined with the pneumonia severity index (CRB-65), could be useful in prognosis of morbidity and mortality of the elderly after the novel COVID-19 infection. Our hypothesis, is the first in the literature, which suggests a prognostic association between nutritional status of patients and COVID-19 infection, offering a quick and low-cost prognostic tool for COVID-19 in the elderly.