Protein is essential to maintain body function. However, no clear evidence is available on whether critically ill patients require the usual or a high dose of protein to recover from their illness. To investigate this, researchers conducted a study in 16 countries between 2018 and 2021. Patients aged ≥18 years with malnutrition , frailty, or sarcopenia and on mechanical ventilation in ICUs were enrolled in the study. A usual (≤1.2 g/kg/day; n = 656) or a high (≥2.2 g/kg/day; n = 645) doses of protein were given to patients for up to 28 days or transitioned to oral feeding or death.
The incidence of alive hospital discharge was low in the high-dose protein group compared to the low-dose protein group (46.1% vs. 50.2%). No significant differences in the 60-day mortality rate were found between the high-dose and low-dose protein groups (34.6% vs. 32.1%). In addition, higher protein intake…
