title: Nutritional status and its impact on time and relocation in postoperative complications of abdominal patients undergoing surgery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The nutritional state is the independent factor that most influences the post-operational results in elective surgeries.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  to evaluate the influence of the nutritional state on the hospitalization period and on the post-operative complications of patients submitted to abdominal surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  prospective study with 99 surgical patients over 18 years of age, submitted to abdominal surgeries in the period from April to October of 2013, in the Instituto de Medicina Integral Professor Fernando Figueira (IMIP). All patients were submitted to anthropometric nutritional evaluations through the body mass Index (BMI), arm circumference (AC) and triceps skinfold thickness (TEST). The biochemical evaluation was carried out from the leukogram and serum albumin results. The identification of candidate patients to nutritional therapy (NT) was carried out through the nutritional risk (NR) evaluation by using the BMI, loss of weight and hypoalbuminemia. The information about post-operational complications, hospitalization period and clinical diagnosis was collected from the medical records. Program SPSS version 13.0 and significance level of 5% were used for the statistical analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The malnutrition diagnosed by the AC showed significant positive association with the presence of post-operative complications (p=0.02) and with hospitalization period (p=0.02). The presence of NR was greater when evaluated by hypoalbuminemia (28.9%), however, only 4% of the sample carried out the NT in the pre-operational period. The hospitalization period was greater for patients with malignant neoplasia (p<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The malnutrition diagnosis of patients submitted to abdominal surgeries is associated to greater risk of post-operational complications and longer hospitalization permanence.
authors.affiliation: Master in Experimental Bases of Nutrition, Federal University of Pernambuco - UFPE and Nutritionist IMIP.. leide.nutri@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Francisca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Leide da Silva Nunes
authors.affiliation: Resident in Clinical Nutrition at Residency Program of the Instituto de Medicina Integral Professor Fernando Figueira (IMIP).. pcaladofp@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Calado Ferreira Pinheiro Gadelha
authors.affiliation: Master student in Applied Molecular and Cell Biology at the Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Pernambuco - UPE and Nutritionist IMIP. damasceno.milena@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Milena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Damasceno de Souza Costa
authors.affiliation: Resident in Clinical Nutrition at Residency Program of the Instituto de Medicina Integral Professor Fernando Figueira (IMIP).. carolinamorim.nutri@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ana Carolina
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Carolina Ribeiro de Amorim
authors.affiliation: Master in Maternal and Child health and Nutritionist IMIP. Brazil.. guiabs@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Maria da Guia
authors.initials: Mda G
authors.lastname: Bezerra da Silva
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000601:surgery*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013997:Time Factors