ASA: Repeated Fasting Increases Malnutrition Risk in Patients Undergoing Multiple Surgeries

THURSDAY, Oct. 24, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Malnutrition is more likely among patients undergoing multiple orthopedic surgeries, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, held from Oct. 18 to 22 in Philadelphia.

Ivie Izekor, from Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Medicine in College Station, and colleagues compared the odds of malnutrition for patients with different numbers of orthopedic surgeries in a study of 28,475,485 patients, of which 6.5 percent were diagnosed with malnutrition.

The researchers found that patients with malnutrition were significantly older and more likely to be female, and they had higher total hospital charges, longer hospital lengths of stay, a higher hospital death rate, and more surgeries per patient (2.31 versus 1.57). The adjusted odds ratios for malnutrition were 1.6, 2.7, 5.1, and 5.2 for patients with five to 10, 10 to 15, 15 to 20, and 20 to 25 surgeries, respectively, compared with those with zero to five surgeries. Patients with malnutrition had at least 15 percent higher odds of hospital death, higher adjusted total charges ($98,000 versus $48,000), and longer hospital stays (9.07 versus 4.34 days).

“Our research determined that repeated fasting in hospitalized patients having multiple orthopedic surgeries over days or weeks increases the risk for protein-calorie malnutrition, leading to longer hospital stays, slower recovery and higher health care costs,” Izekor said in a statement.

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