Nutrition delivery across hospitalisation in critically ill patients with COVID-19: An observational study of the Australian experience.

This was an observational study of nutrition practice, so it cannot show that any feeding route, supplement, or dietetic intervention improved recovery. Actual calorie and protein intake were not measured. Prescriptions and notes may not reflect what patients consumed. Data were collected rapidly and retrospectively because of workforce pressures, so documentation may be incomplete or inaccurate. Weight and height were sometimes estimated or reported rather than measured. Weight change is therefore less certain. Few patients had data in weeks 2, 3, and 4 after ICU discharge, with 43, 23, and 10 patients respectively. The study included patients discharged to an acute ward and excluded patients discharged for palliative care, so it may not represent all critically ill patients with COVID-19. Nutrition-impacting symptoms and intake adequacy were based on clinical documentation, not standardised assessment, so some problems may not have been recorded. No formal sample size calculation was performed.

This research received no specific grant. Four authors hold leadership positions with Australian Critical Care; the journal states they were excluded from decision-making and another editor managed the manuscript.

Do not read these rates as evidence that tube feeding, oral supplements, or dietitian input improved outcomes. The study described what was documented, did not compare treatments, and did not quantify actual intake.