Preoperative nutritional status predicts the severity of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) following major vascular surgery

Objectives. This study examined the relationship between pre-operative nutritional status and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) or sepsis following major vascular surgery. Design and methods. Subjects undergoing open AAA repair, EVAR or lower limb revascularisation were studied prospectively. Pre-operative nutrition was assessed clinically using Mini-Nutritional Assessment (MNA) and body composition was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scanning. SIRS severity was assessed for 5 post-operative days and sepsis noted within 30 days of surgery. Results. Using MNA, neither SIRS severity nor sepsis occurrence differed significantly between 'well-nourished' subjects and those 'at risk of malnutrition'. Using DEXA, negative associations existed between body mass index and both SIRS score and SIRS duration. Fat free mass (FFM) was negatively associated with SIRS score and duration. Negative associations also existed between skeletal muscle mass (SMM) and SIRS score and duration. SMM was also negatively correlated with post-operative length of stay in hospital. There were no significant correlations between sepsis and any nutritional indices. Conclusions. Lower pre-operative nutritional indices, indicating protein energy malnutrition, were associated with more severe systemic inflammatory responses following major vascular surgery.