Study Shows Increased Malnutrition Risk in Patients with Multiple Orthopedic Surgeries

According to an Oct. 19 press release, people who have multiple orthopedic surgeries during the same hospital stay are more likely to suffer malnutrition due to repeated or prolonged fasting.

This can slow recovery and increase the risk of death, according to a study of more than 28 million patients presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY2024 annual meeting.

The press release said, “Because food or liquid retained in the stomach increases the risk of regurgitation and aspiration in the airway and lungs during general anesthesia and deep sedation, most patients are directed to fast for at least eight hours before surgery. This is generally accomplished by not eating after midnight. It is also recommended that only clear liquids may be consumed up to two hours before the procedure. Patients having multiple surgeries while in the hospital, especially those clustered together over several days, are required to fast repeatedly or for cumulative prolonged periods.”

Further, “For the study, researchers analyzed the National Inpatient Sample database between 2016 and 2019. They identified 28,475,485 patients who had orthopedic surgery of any type in the hospital, 1,853,360 (6.5%) of whom were diagnosed with malnutrition after admission. Patients were grouped based on the number of surgeries they had, all of which were performed during a single hospitalization. Patients who were diagnosed with malnutrition had an average of 2.31 surgeries, while those who were not malnourished had an average of 1.57 surgeries.”

Researchers found malnourished patients were at minimum 15% more likely to die (and the risk increased with more surgeries), had higher hospital costs (an average of $98,000 vs. $48,000), and had longer hospital stays (an average of 9.07 days vs. 4.34 days).

The cause of death in malnourished patients typically was related to infection, complications from poor wound healing or general frailty exacerbated by malnutrition.

To prevent malnutrition, researchers suggest that patients undergoing multiple surgeries receive personalized nutritional support during their hospital stay.