[Best practice in nutrition in the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU): an operational flow chart to support the assessment of patients admitted to the CICU].

Managing patients in intensive care units involves special attention for complex patients with multiple comorbidities and multi-organ dysfunction, for whom continuous and advanced staff training is required. Recent evidence shows malnutrition negatively impacts cardiovascular outcomes but can be improved with targeted strategies. However, gaps remain in standardizing nutritional assessment and management in clinical practice. The aim of the Best Practice working group is to draw up an operational flow chart to support assessments in nutrition for patients admitted to the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) and to evaluate their impact on clinical practice. After a thorough literature review, including Cochrane guidelines and reviews, available evidence on nutrition in CICU has been synthesized and decision-making algorithms have been developed for the following clinical conditions: acute heart failure, acute coronary syndrome, after cardiac arrest, cardiogenic shock, which have been synthesized into a single algorithm to facilitate consultation and use in clinical practice. This project aims to disseminate and standardize best practice-based decision-making in the CICU, serving as a structured first step toward greater awareness and more consistent, effective management of nutrition assessment.