Kate Woodhead RGN DMS provides an insight into the importance of optimal nutritional management of patients undergoing surgery and how this can lead to improved outcomes.
One aspect of surgical assessment and practice is an understanding of the impact of the surgery on wound healing and post-operative recovery. When an elective surgical patient is called to pre-assessment, it indicates that the day for surgery is not far away. What is often missing from the assessment is an evaluation of the patient for malnutrition or under-nutrition. Many patients who present for pre-assessment may be malnourished, indeed, anecdotally, around 50% of all patients lack an appropriate diet.
The elderly are at particularly high risk. Clinicians need to establish whether patients have lost weight recently, had diarrhoea regularly, lost their appetite, or other aspects of nutritional health, which may be able to be corrected before the surgery takes place. Many patients do not receive any kind of risk assessment or nutritional guidance. There is, however, a growing body of evidence to suggest that supporting a patient’s nutritional needs may lead to better surgical outcomes and reduce the length of stay.
The stress of surgery
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