Higher BMI is associated with reduced mortality but longer hospital stays following ICU discharge in critically ill Asian patients.

Background & Aims: Asians with similar body mass index (BMI) as the Caucasians are at higher health risk as compared to their counterparts. Although the mean weight of patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) is increasing but the relation between BMI with 28-day mortality and length of stay (LOS) following ICU discharge in Asian patients is not well studied.

Methods: We included all adult patients admitted to the ICU of a tertiary hospital who received mechanical ventilation (MV) for at least 48 hours between October 2013 and September 2014.

Taste perception and diet in people of Chinese ancestry.

Background And Objectives: Taste perception plays a key role in consumer acceptance and food choice, which has an important impact on human health. Our aim was to examine the relationship between taste intensities and preferences of sweet (sucrose), salty (sodium chloride and potassium chloride), sour (citric acid), and bitter (quinine and phenylthiocarbamide) in relation to dietary intake and dietary patterns in people of Chinese ancestry.

Methods And Study Design: This cross-sectional study included 100 adult Singaporean Chinese (50 women).

Association of modified NUTRIC score with 28-day mortality in critically ill patients.

Background & Aims: For patients in the intensive care unit (ICU), nutritional risk assessment is often difficult. Traditional scoring systems cannot be used for patients who are sedated or unconscious since they are unable to provide information on their history of food intake and weight loss. We aim to validate the NUTRIC (NUTrition RIsk in Critically ill) score, an ICU-specific nutrition risk assessment tool in Asian patients.