Evaluation of nutritional status of the elderly patients under surgical treatment

Introduction: Malnutrition is commonplace. It constitutes a significant strain for the patients and influences the course of treatment.

Aim of the study: to evaluate the nutritional status of the elderly patients qualified for the surgical treatment with the use of subjective methods.

Material and methods: The study included 150 patients (70 women and 80 men), aged from 65 to 98. The selection criteria were: the age of the patient, surgical treatment and the lack of the cancer burden. In the majority of cases, the reasons for hospitalization were diagnosed illnesses of the gallbladder and bile ducts, and ruptures.

The evaluation of the nutritional status was performed with the SGA questionnaire. The research was conducted after obtaining the informed consent with the voluntary patient’s participation.

Results: The analysis of the global subjective evaluation of the nutritional status made it possible to define the advancement of changes in the group of examined patients. The conducted study of the nutritional status basing on the SGA scale showed that 19.3% of subjects were qualified to the group with suspected malnutrition or moderate malnutrition. In these groups, patients with illnesses of the gallbladder, bile ducts and intestines constituted the majority.

The study revealed that the complications occurred relatively more frequently in the group of subjects with malnutrition or with its risk when compared to the group of properly nourished patients.

Conclusions: The incidence of malnutrition or its risk in the group of ill elderly people treated surgically is a resultant of many factors. For some patients it develops even before hospital admission, and is a significant risk factor involved in the occurrence of complications.