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Comparative Study
. 2014 Aug;68(4):263-7.
doi: 10.5455/medarh.2014.68.263-267. Epub 2014 Jul 31.

Malnutrition at the time of surgery affects negatively the clinical outcome of critically ill patients with gastrointestinal cancer

Vjollca Shpata  1 , Xhensila Prendushi  1 , Manika Kreka  1 , Irena Kola  1 , Floreta Kurti  1 , Ilir Ohri  2
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Malnutrition at the time of surgery affects negatively the clinical outcome of critically ill patients with gastrointestinal cancer

Vjollca Shpata et al. Med Arch. 2014 Aug.

Abstract

Introduction: Malnutrition is a frequent concomitant of surgical illness, especially in gastrointestinal cancer surgery. The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of malnutrition in the GI cancer patients and its relation with clinical outcome. We also examined associations between the energy balance and clinical outcomes in these patients.

Methods: Prospective study on 694 surgical patients treated in the ICU of the UHC of Tirana. Patients were divided into well-nourished and malnourished groups according to their nutritional status. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyze the effect of malnutrition and cumulated energy balance on clinical outcome.

Results: The prevalence of pre-operative malnutrition was 65.3% for all surgical patients and 84.9% for gastrointestinal cancer patients. Malnutrition, as analyzed by a multivariate logistic regression model, is an independent risk factor for higher complications, infections, and mortality, longer stay in the ventilator and ICU. Also this model showed that cumulated energy balance correlated with infections, and mortality and was independently associated with the length ventilator and ICU stay.

Conclusion: This study shows that malnutrition is a significant problem in surgical patients, especially in patients with gastrointestinal cancer. Malnutrition and cumulated energy deficit in gastro-intestinal surgery patients with malignancy is an independent risk factor on increased post-operative morbidity and mortality.

Keywords: cumulated energy deficit; malign disease; morbidity; mortality; nutritional status; surgical critically ill.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST: NONE DECLARED.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Prevalence of malnutrition according to the presence of malignant disease
Figure 2
Figure 2
Length of post-operative intensive care stay (ICULOS) according to the nutritional status of surgical patients with malignancy
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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