Using the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) to Evaluate the Influence of Nutrition on the Mortality of Trauma Patients

The nutritional risk index (NRI) is a screening method that was primarily developed to identify older patients with malnutrition. It consists of serum albumin levels as well as body weight measurements. However, even under professional care, the usual body weight is often not documented for older patients. To determine the usual body weight of older patients, the geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) was introduced in 2005 by Bouillanne et al - the formula included a combination of serum albumin levels and the ratio of body weight to ideal body weight. The GNRI formula replaces the usual body weight in the NRI formula with the ideal body weight, calculated using the Lorentz formula. Although the GNRI was developed using the data of patients who were admitted to a geriatric rehabilitation care unit, it was found to be a strong prognostic factor for certain malignancies and a simple, objective, and quick method to determine the nutritional status of patients and long-term postoperative outcomes and the correlation between these elements. Using this simple calculation, it is possible to evaluate the nutritional status of critically ill patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome in the intensive care unit (ICU). Considering that trauma patients constitute a specific population, as injuries generally occur accidentally and acutely, it is important to determine whether the GNRI can be used to link nutritional status and outcomes in trauma patients. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the association between GNRI at admission and mortality outcomes of older trauma patients in the ICU.