The relationship between obesity and nursing care problems in intensive care patients in Austria.
Franziska Großschädl, Silvia Bauer
PMID 32954581WHAT IT FOUND
Obese ICU patients did not have significantly more nursing care problems than non-obese patients.
Pressure-ulcer risk was numerically lower in obese patients, but the main group differences were not significant.
Key findings
01Among 460 analysed ICU patients, 25.0% were obese.
02No significant differences were found between obese and non-obese ICU patients in the prevalence of nursing care problems.
03In the multivariate logistic regression, pressure-ulcer risk was associated with lower odds of obesity (OR 0.544, 95% CI 0.301-0.981).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample could not be split into obesity classes, so differences in severe obesity may have been missed. It was a convenience sample, and the authors state less than half of eligible participants could be included. Sedated patients were excluded because they could not consent, which may make the sample less representative of ICU patients. Patients with missing BMI data were excluded, leaving 460 analysed from 1030 asked. The Braden Scale had only moderate predictive validity in a recent meta-analysis and may need modification for ICU use. Falls and restraint data came from medical records, which may miss events before ICU transfer or admission from home. The types of ICUs were not clear, and some potentially important variables were unavailable.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that obesity protects ICU patients from nursing care problems. The study found no significant differences between obese and non-obese patients, and the pressure-ulcer association was cross-sectional and may reflect other risk factors.