Nutrition support services in post operative patients in Kerala, India - An exploratory study

Abstract

Pre-operative nutritional status and nutritional support in post operative services are critical determinants for outcome of surgery. In the present study thirty patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery from a private hospital in Kochi, Kerala were selected as subjects for the study. Nutritional status assessment was carried out using Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) and Instant Nutritional Assessment (INA) respectively. The results indicated that fifty and fifty seven percent of subjects fell under the severely malnourished category by SGA and INA respectively. Twenty three percent of the subjects had a BMI less than 80 % of reference standards. Enteral feeding by jejunostomy and nasojejunal route was initiated 48 to 72 hours post operatively. Forty three and seventy five percent of the subjects met RDA of energy on day five and day eight respectively. Incidence of post operative complications was higher among subjects who were malnourished pre-operatively. By INA there is a reduction in percent subjects malnourished during the hospital stay .High post operative morbidity and mortality rate have been associated with malnutrition and post operative nutritional support has a significant corrective role in improving the outcome of surgery. Key Words: Nutrition Support Services, Subjective Global Assessment, Instant Nutritional Assessment, Malnutrition