Nutritional status and its effect on emergency surgery

Aim: to determine the effects of pre-existing malnutrition on the overall outcome of surgery in emergency situation. methods: a cross sectional comparative-analytical study was performed in emergency unit of allama iqbal medical college,lahore from february 2014 to january 2015. one hundred malnourished (cases) and 100 properly nourished (control) were selected. patients with bmi < 18.50 was labeled as malnourished and patients with bmi 18.50-24.99 was labeled as properly nourished. results: malnourished patients were compared with properly nourished patients for post-operative chest infection. out of 100 malnourished patients,27(27%) had post-operative chest infection vs 14 (14%) in properly nourished. post-operative wound infection was observed in 29 % of malnourished patients &18% properly nourished subjects. mean hospital stay was also significantly longer in malnourished patients. conclusion: malnutrition is an important risk factor for the occurrence of postoperative complications.