title: Nutritional risk index is predictor of postoperative complications in operations of digestive system or abdominal wall?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Malnutrition can be considered the most common disease in hospitals due to its high prevalence.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the methods of evaluation of the nutritional status that better correlate with postoperative complications and the length of hospital stay in patients submitted to gastrointestinal or abdominal wall surgeries.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a retrospective evaluation of 215 nutritional assessment records. All were submitted to traditional anthropometry (weight, height, BMI, arm circumference, triceps skinfold thickness and mid-arm muscle circumference), subjective global assessment, serum albumin and lymphocyte count. Nutritional risk index was also calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 125 patients were included. Malnutrition was diagnosed by mid-arm muscle circumference, nutritional risk index and subjective global assessment in 46%, 88% and 66%, respectively. Severe malnutrition was found in 17,6% if considered subjective global assessment and in 42% by the nutritional risk index. Oncologic patients had a worst nutritional status according to this index (5,42 less units). There was a negative correlation between occurrence the noninfectious postoperative complications with the nutritional risk index (p=0,0016). Similarly, lower serum albumin levels were associated with higher non infectious complications (p=0,0015). The length of hospital stay was, in average, 14,24 days less in patients without complications as compared with non infectious postoperative complications (p<0,05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nutritional risk index and serum albumin are the parameters with the best capacity to predict the occurrence of non infectious postoperative complications and the length of hospital stay was higher to this patients.
authors: Rubia Daniela
authors: RD
authors: Thieme
authors: Gislaine
authors: G
authors: Cutchma
authors: Maria Eliana Madalozzo
authors: ME
authors: Chieferdecker
authors: Antônio Carlos Ligocki
authors: AC
authors: Campos
mesh_terms: D034861:Abdominal Wall / Q000601:surgery*; D013505:Digestive System Surgical Procedures; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment