Lower geriatric nutritional risk index predicts postoperative pancreatic fistula in patients with distal pancreatectomy

Postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) is a common complication following pancreatic resection. It leads to increased medical costs, and longer hospital stays. However, the risk factors of POPF are still unclear, and therefore, this urgent clinical issue should be resolved. The geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) is tool to assess the nutritional status using body weight, and serum albumin value, particularly in elderly patients. On the other hand, POPF is associated with body mass index (BMI). Thus, the present study aimed to investigate whether GNRI can predict the risk of POPF in patients after distal pancreatectomy (DP). We conducted a retrospective cohort study involving 37 patients who were treated at the Department of Digestive Surgery, Kawaguchi Municipal Medical Center between January 2007 and June 2018. All patients were subjected to nutritional screening using GNRI, and were followed up after DP for postoperative complications including POPF. In addition, risk factors of POPF, and patient's height, BMI, and preoperative laboratory values were analyzed. POPF was observed in 7 of the 37 (19%) patients. Those with a POPF had significantly lower GNRI values than those without POPF (P<0.001). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to determine a cut-off value of GNRI, which indicated an increased risk of POPF. This value was determined as 96 (sensitivity: 71.4%, specificity: 86.7%, likelihood ratio: 5.36). Univariate analysis confirmed that a GNRI of <96 was significantly associated with POPF (P=0.005), and a multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that a GNRI of <96 was significant independent predictor of POPF (P=0.005), suggesting its utility for assessing the risk of POPF following DP.