Nutritional risk screening score as an independent predictor of nonventilator hospital-acquired pneumonia: a cohort study of 67,280 patients

BACKGROUND: Currently, the association of nutritional risk screening score with the development of nonventilator hospital-acquired pneumonia (NV-HAP) is unknown. This study investigated whether nutritional risk screening score is an independent predictor of NV-HAP. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study was conducted between September 2017 and June 2020 in a tertiary hospital in China. The tool of Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS-2002) was used for nutritional risk screening. A total score of ≥3 indicated a patient was “at nutritional risk.” Logistic regression was applied to explore the association between the NRS score and NV-HAP. RESULTS: A total of 67,280 unique patients were included in the study. The incidence of NV-HAP in the cohort for the NRS < 3 and ≥ 3 NRS group was 0.4% (232/62702) and 2.6% (121/4578), respectively. In a multivariable logistic regression model adjusted for all of the covariates, per 1-point increase in the NRS score was associated with a 30% higher risk of NV-HAP (OR = 1.30; 95%CI:1.19–1.43). Similarly, patients with NRS score ≥ 3 had a higher risk of NV-HAP with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.06 (confidence interval (CI): 1.58–2.70) than those with NRS score < 3. Subgroup analyses indicated that the association between the NRS score and the risk of NV-HAP was similar for most strata. Furthermore, the interaction analyses revealed no interactive role in the association between NRS score and NV-HAP. CONCLUSION: NRS score is an independent predictor of NV-HAP, irrespective of the patient’s characteristics. NRS-2002 has the potential as a convenient tool for risk stratification of adult hospitalized patients with different NV-HAP risks. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12879-021-06014-w.