Does preoperative nutritional assessment affect clinical outcomes in children with acute appendicitis

Abstract

Background: Malnutrition increases postoperative complications in pediatric surgical patients. Objective: The aim of the present study was to examine whether the preoperative nutritional status had any effect on postoperative outcomes in pediatric patients with acute appendicitis who were in need of emergency surgery. Methods: This retrospective clinical study was carried out at the Department of Pediatric Surgery, Adana City Training and Research Hospital, University of Health Sciences. The study included 74 patients, whose data were analyzed retrospectively. The patients' preoperative Gomez malnutrition classifications and body mass indexes (BMI) were calculated and compared to clinical outcomes. Results: The study included 74 children who had appendectomy procedures. The mean age was 11.5±3.7 years, 64.9% of the patients in the study were male, while 35.1% were female. The duration of admission to the hospital was 1.77±1.34 days. A BMI cut-off value of less than 16.74 was found to be statistically significant (p<0.001), with 100.0% percent sensitivity and 68.66% specificity. Wound infection was more common in patients with a BMI greater than 16.74 (p=0.010). Low BMI patients were more common in the 0-6 age group and the 7-13 age group (p<0.001). Conclusion: Nutritional assessment is an essential part of the care of children undergoing surgery. In the present study, we discovered that mild-to-moderate malnutrition before surgery increased postoperative morbidity, hospital stay, and wound infection frequency in children with low BMI. These evaluation systems, in our opinion, will pave the way for positive changes in postoperative management planning.