Effect of malnutrition on emergency surgery

Aim: to determine the effects of preexisting malnutrition on the overall outcome of surgery in emergency situation. methods: a cross sectional comparative analytical study was performed in emergency unit of tertiary care hospital,bvh,bahawalpur from february 2009 to january 2010. an approval was taken from institutional review committee. one hundred malnourished (cases) and 100 properly nourished (control) were selected. patients with bmi < 18.50 was labeled as malnourished and patients with bmi 18.5024.99 was labeled as properly nourished. results: malnourished patients were compared with properly nourished patients for postoperative chest infection. out of 100 malnourished patients,27(27%) had postoperative chest infection versus 14(14%) in properly nourished. postoperative wound infection was observed in 29% of malnourished patients & 18% in 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.