Preoperative Nutritional Status and Its Consequences on Abdominal Surgery in Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia: An Institution-Based Observational Study

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of malnutrition and its association with wound healing and length of hospitalization among patients undergoing abdominal surgery admitted to hospitals in the Wolaita zone in southern Ethiopia. Methods. An institution-based prospective observational study was conducted in three hospitals in the Wolaita zone from August to October 2016. All eligible individuals aged between 19 and 55 years were recruited in this study. Anthropometric and biochemical analyses, such as serum albumin (Alb) and total lymphocyte count (TLC), were taken for nutritional assessment during the preoperative period. Quantitative variables were compared using Student's t test. Cox's regression was employed to determine which variables were possible risk factors for poor wound healing. Results. A total of 105 patients aged 19 to 55 with a mean age (±SD) of 34 ± 9.6 years were included, and the prevalence of preoperative malnutrition was 27.6%, 87%, according to BMI and nutritional risk index, respectively. Poor wound healing was significantly associated with underweight patients (BMI < 18.5 kg/m(2)) (AHR: 6.5 : 95%CI: 3.312.9), postoperative weight loss (AHR: 4.9; 95%CI: 2.8–8.5), and nutritional risk index (NRI) less than 97.5 (AHR 1.8; 95% CI: 1.09–3.1). Conclusion. The prevalence of malnutrition is high in our study setup; this is associated with an increased risk of adverse postoperative outcomes. Therefore, our results emphasize the need of routine preoperative nutritional assessment, optimizing nutritional status of patients and postoperative nutritional support.