Prognostic value of geriatric nutritional risk index for aspiration
pneumonia: a retrospective study
Abstract
Background/Objectives: The clinical characteristics and prognostic
factors of aspiration pneumonia remain poorly defined. Geriatric
nutrition risk index (GNRI) has recently been reported to exhibit a
prognostic value for several diseases in older adults. Thus, we aimed to
investigate the clinical characteristics and prognostic significance of
GNRI for aspiration pneumonia in a sample of older adult patients.
Design: Retrospective observational cohort study. Setting:
Single-institute acute-phase community hospital. Participants: Patients
with aspiration pneumonia diagnosed at our institute between April 2014
and March 2016. Measurements: Data on patient characteristics,
microbiological findings, and clinical course were extracted from
electronic medical records. The primary outcome was in-hospital
mortality. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was
conducted to compare the predictive value of each parameter. Logistic
regression analysis was performed to identify independent prognostic
factors. Results: Overall, 587 patients with aspiration pneumonia aged ≥
65 years were enrolled. The mean age was 86 years. Among the patients,
97 patients (16.5%) died. ROC analysis for in-hospital mortality
revealed that GNRI had a greater area under the curve value than
albumin, body mass index, and A-DROP score, with a significant
difference between GNRI and albumin (p=0.0058). Male gender sex (odds
ratio [OR]: 1.88, p = 0.028,), chronic heart failure (OR: 2.14, p =
0.023), history of malignancy (OR: 2.66, p = 0.0025), lower GNRI (OR:
0.94, p < 0.001), and initial antibiotic change (OR: 4.22, p
< 0.001) were identified as independent adverse prognostic
factors in the multivariate analysis. Conclusion: Our findings indicate
that GNRI is a potential prognostic marker for older adults with
aspiration pneumonia and may act as a proxy for disease severity. Our
results support the use of GNRI in the clinical management of aspiration
pneumonia.