The link between nutritional status and surgical outcomes

The rise in the number of liver and pancreatic cancer patients in North America and around the world increases the need to better predict adverse outcomes after surgery. Because this patient population also presents with a higher rate of malnutrition which is known to increase the risks of morbidity and mortality, an effective, and validated, pre-operative nutritional assessment method is needed. This pilot study sought to evaluate the feasibility of various nutritional assessments in this patient population and to collect data on nutritional status in order to identify markers with which to develop future nutritional pre-habilitation programs that could positively impact postoperative outcomes. Results revealed that improvements can occur during the pre-operative period, and that dietary intake and exercise levels may both be required components of pre-habilitation programs, but that alleviating patient burden is key in facilitating subject recruitment and compliance.