ABSTRACT
Pre-existing malnutrition has been reported to affect a high percentage of cancer patients. Various methods are being used to assess nutritional status in hospitalized patients. The aim of this study was to apply two different nutritional assessment techniques to determine the prevalence of malnutrition in GI cancer patients and to assess their nutritional status, at admission and seven days after surgery. For this purpose, the nutritional status of fifty one patients who underwent major intraabdominal surgery was assessed. The Subjective Global Assessment [SGA], Nutritional Risk Index [NRI], anthropometric measurements, serum albumin, prealbumin, lymphocyte count and hematocrit were used to assess nutritional status of the patients. At the time of admission, based on the SGA and NRI, 70.6% and 74.5% of the patients were malnourished respectively. Both anthropometric and laboratory data, including weight, body mass index, mid arm circumference, triceps skin fold, mid arm muscle circumference, albumin, prealbumin, hematocrit and lymphocyte decreased significantly seven days after surgery [p<0.01]. The malnutrition rates increased significantly to 98% with both the SGA and NRI, seven days after surgery [p<0.01]. From the findings of this study it is concluded that there was a high prevalence of malnutrition in GI cancer patients and in almost all patients, nutritional status deteriorated seven days after surgery. Both methods proved useful for detection of the prevalence and development of malnutrition. Based on these results it is suggested that nutritional care after surgery should be improved by providing enough calories via enteral and/or parenteral route