Nutritional aspects of preoperative management.
The preoperative evaluation of the surgical patient should include a careful evaluation of the patient's nutritional status. A careful history and physical examination are appropriate and reliable means for evaluation of nutritional status. Patients with certain diagnoses, such as Crohn's disease or visceral malignancies, are likely to become malnourished even if they are not malnourished at the time of hospital admission. Preoperative and postoperative nutritional support, continued until the patient is able to take adequate nutrients by mouth, is an important part of the management of these patients and can improve the care and decrease the likelihood of complications.
D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D006801:Humans; D009752:Nutritional Status; D010288:Parenteral Nutrition / Q000191:economics; D011300:Preoperative Care; D014481:United States