Healthcare Resource Utilization and Cost Comparisons of High-Protein Enteral Nutrition Formulas Used in Critically Ill Patients

Background: High-protein enteral nutrition is advised for patients who are critically ill. Options include immunonutrition formulas of various compositions and standard high-protein formulas (StdHP). Additional research is needed on the health economic value of immunonutrition in a broad cohort of severely ill hospitalized patients. Objectives: The study goal was to compare healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and cost between immunonutrition and StdHP using real-world data from a large US administrative database. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was designed using the PINC AI (TM) Healthcare Database from 2015 to 2019. IMPACT (R) Peptide 1.5 (IP) was compared with Pivot (R) 1.5 (PC), and StdHP formulas. Inclusion criteria comprised patients over age 18 with at least 1 day's stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) and at least 3 out of 5 consecutive days of enteral nutrition. Pairwise comparisons of demographics, clinical characteristics, HCRU, and costs of IP were conducted with PC and StdHP, respectively. Multivariable regression was used to assess total hospital cost per day associated with enteral nutrition cohort. Results: A total of 5752 patients were identified across 27 hospitals. Overall, a median of 7 days of enteral nutrition was received over a 16-day hospital and 10-day ICU stay. Median total and daily hospital costs were lower for IP vs PC ($71 196 vs $80 696, P<.001) and ($4208 vs $4373, P=.019), with each higher than StdHP. However, after controlling for covariates such as mortality risk, surgery, and discharge disposition, average total hospital cost per day associated with IP use was 24% lower than PC and 12% lower than StdHP (P<.001). Readmissions within 30 days were less frequent for patients receiving IP compared with PC (P<.02) and StdHP (P<.001). Conclusions: Choice of high-protein enteral nutrition for patients in the ICU has implications for HCRU and daily hospital costs. Considering these correlations is important when comparing formula ingredients and per-unit costs. Among the enteral nutrition products studied, IP emerged as the most cost-saving option, with lower adjusted hospital cost per day than PC or StdHP. Using a select immunonutrition formula for critically ill patients may provide overall cost savings for the healthcare system.