Medical nutrition therapy of coronavirus disease 2019 inpatients based on the tenth edition of the National Diagnosis and Treatment Protocol / 中华临床营养杂志

ABSTRACT

Most hospitalized patients infected with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are in severe or critical condition, and malnutrition is a key factor contributing to adverse outcomes. The basic principles of medical nutrition therapy have been determined in the recently released tenth edition of the National Diagnosis and Treatment Protocol. The principles have promoted nutritional risk assessment, emphasized the preferred method of enteral nutrition, and recommended the daily intake of calories at 25 to 30 kcal/kg and protein at > 1.2g/kg. Parenteral nutrition should be also added when necessary. Based on the above principles, Beijing Hospital has refined the medical nutrition therapy measures to facilitate the implementation in clinical practice, in order to improve healthcare quality and decrease the mortality in COVID-19 patients.