Preoperative Nutritional Risk Assessment for Predicting Complications after Radical Cystectomy plus Urinary Diversion for Bladder Cancer

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the predictive value of preoperative nutritional risk assessment on the occurrence of complications after radical cystectomy plus urinary diversion for bladder cancer. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of 178 patients with bladder cancer between July 2010 and March 2022 who underwent elective radical cystectomy plus urinary diversion was conducted. The occurrence of complications within 90 days after surgery was counted for all patients, and the postoperative complication rates of patients with and without nutritional risk were compared and analyzed. Also, logistic regression analysis was used to assess the relative risk coefficients of NRS-2002 and the occurrence of postoperative complications. RESULTS: Comparison of clinicopathological characteristics and surgical conditions between the two groups showed that the proportion of combined diabetes mellitus, operative time, and postoperative hospital stay were higher in the nutritional risk group (NRS ≥3 score) than in the no nutritional risk group (NRS <3 score), while the preoperative blood albumin (ALB) level was lower than that in the no nutritional risk group (NRS <3 score). The results of multifactorial risk regression analysis showed that low preoperative ALB level and high NRS score were independent risk factors for postoperative complications in bladder cancer (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The NRS-2002 nutritional risk score has good predictive value for the incidence of postoperative complications in patients with bladder cancer and provides a scientific basis for perioperative nutritional support.