Nutritional support is a crucial component of managing critically ill patients. The
prognostic impact of early enteral nutrition (EN) in critically ill COVID-19 patients is
largely unknown. The study aimed to determine the relationship between the nutritional
profile of critically ill patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and disease severity,
prognosis, and survival, to assess the ability to meet nutritional goals, EN
complications, and reasons for discontinuation and postponement of feeding. Methods: This
retrospective study was conducted with adult intensive care unit (ICU) patients diagnosed
with COVID-19 and receiving mechanical ventilation (MV) and EN. The demographic,
clinical, biochemical, and nutritional data of the patients were obtained from the
patient's files and the hospital database. The initiation time, route, method, product
type, amount, and duration of feeding were recorded, and the daily intake of energy,
protein, pulp, and water were calculated. The nutritional requirements of the patients
were defined, and achievement of targets, EN complications, and reasons for
discontinuation and postponement were recorded. Patients were divided into two groups:
early EN (EEN) if the feeding was initiated within the first 48 hours after MV and late
EN (LEN) if 48 hours or later. The research outcomes are to determine the relationship
between the duration of EN initiation and Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI) score,
neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), oxygenation status, MV, ICU, and length of hospital
stay, overall mortality, and whether nutritional goals were met, EN complications, and
reasons for discontinuation and postponement.