Effect of malnutrition on postoperative results after pancreatic resection: An entropy balancing analysis

• Published in: Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland) Scotland), 2022-08, Vol.41 (8), p.1781-1786
• Main Authors: Ricci, Claudio, Serbassi, Francesco, Ingaldi, Carlo, Alberici, Laura, Grego, Davide Giovanni, Daniela, Di Mauro, De Raffele, Emilio, Vicennati, Valentina, Pironi, Loris, Sasdelli, Anna Simona, Casadei, Riccardo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Malnutrition; Pancreatic cancer; Pancreatic surgery
• ISSN: 0261-5614; 1532-1983
• DOI: 10.1016/j.clnu.2022.06.031

Malnutrition is a well-recognized risk factor for major surgery-related complications, but the impact of preoperative nutritional therapy is still debated due to a lack of high-level evidence. The study aims to evaluate the role of preoperative malnutrition in the postoperative course of patients who underwent pancreatic resection. This is a retrospective study involving 488 patients who underwent pancreatic resection. An entropy balance was applied to 134 patients at risk for moderate or severe malnutrition (M/S-MAL) to obtain a cohort equal to 354 patients, with the null or low risk of malnutrition (N/L-MAL). The reweighting scheme was made in two steps. In the 1st reweighting, the two cohorts were homogenized for confounding factors not modifiable. In the 2nd reweighting, the two cohorts were matched for modifiable factors by preoperative dietary support. The entropy balance was evaluated with the d-value. The postoperative results were reported as mean differences (MD) or odds ratio (OR) with a confidence interval at 95% (95 CI). The M/S-MAL included patients with lower values of BMI (d