The cut-off points used for muscle mass affect the reported prevalence rates for sarcopenia and, in turn, affect comparability between studies. The main factors influencing the magnitude of the change are muscle mass index distribution in the population and the absolute value of the cut-off points: the same difference between two references (e.g., 7.5 kg/m2 to 7.75 kg/m2 or 7.75 kg/m2 to 8 kg/m2) may produce different changes in prevalence. Changes in cut-off points for gait speed and grip strength had a limited impact on sarcopenia prevalence and on study comparability.

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Aim According to age, there are differences in the clinical profile, presentation, management, and short-term outcomes of patients with COVID-19 admitted to the Emergency Department. Findings A statistically significant association was found between demographic data, comorbidities, clinical, radiographic, analytical, and therapeutic variables and short-term results according to age-dependent categories. Age was a prognostic factor for hospital admission and in-hospital and 30-day mortality, and was associated with not being admitted to intensive care. Message Clinical presentation, management, and short-term outcomes differ according to age among patients with COVID-19 admitted to the Emergency Department.

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NutriQoL® is valid, reliable, even if lowly sensitive to change, and useful to measure HRQoL in this population. More studies are needed to know HRQoL in routine practice.

IntroductionHome enteral nutrition (HEN) is indicated in patients with a functional gastrointestinal tract but who are unable to meet their nutritional requirements with normally consumed foodstuffs. HEN allows patients to remain in their social and family environment, thus reducing complications and costs associated with hospital admission, while increasing health-related quality of life (HRQoL). HRQoL in patients with HEN is mainly evaluated by generic instruments, which are not sensitive enough to identify certain specific patient-related outcomes of HEN.ObjectiveTo develop a specific instrument to measure HRQoL in patients receiving HEN whose results allow interpretation regardless of the underlying disease and nutritional support administration route: the NutriQoL® questionnaire.Materials and methodsThe development of the NutriQoL entailed a literature review, focus groups with experts, semistructured interviews with patients, an assessment of face validity and feasibility, and Rasch analysis conducted on data from a sample of 141 patients and 24 caregivers.ResultsOf the 52 items initially proposed on the basis of the literature review, expert focus group, and semi-structured interviews with patients and caregivers, 17 items were finally selected through the development process to make up the final version of the NutriQoL, as well as a visual analog scale for global HRQoL scoring. The selected items were evaluated as adequate for frequency, importance, and clarity. Furthermore, they have been shown to be independent of the underlying condition and HEN administration route.ConclusionA new instrument for measuring the HRQoL of patients with HEN in Spain has been developed, whose results are independent of the underlying condition and administration route. The next step will be the validation of the questionnaire to ensure that the instrument is valid, reliable, and sensitive to health status changes in patients, to be used periodically in usual clinical practice.