2021 Volume 33 Issue 2 Pages 121-131
Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of nutritional status on infectious complications in patients with rheumatoid arthritis（RA）.
Methods: Study participants included patients with RA complicated with severe infection requiring hospitalization（infectious hospitalization group）and patients without severe infections（control group）. The characteristics, clinical findings, treatment details as well as nutritional status assessed using the prognostic nutritional index（PNI）and controlling nutritional status（CONUT）of the patients were compared between the groups.
Results: PNI and CONUT were significantly lower in the infectious hospitalization group（P < 0.001 for both）, and low PNI was identified as a predictor of severe infections（odds ratio: 1.749, 95% confidence interval: 1.110‒2.755, P < 0.001）.
Conclusions: It is essential to evaluate and manage the nutritional status of patients for appropriate and safe treatment of RA.
