1. Malnutrition in surgical patients. An unrecognised problem.
- Author
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Hill GL, Blackett RL, Pickford I, Burkinshaw L, Young GA, Warren JV, Schorah CJ, and Morgan DB
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Anthropometry, Ascorbic Acid blood, Ascorbic Acid Deficiency diagnosis, Body Weight, England, Female, Folic Acid blood, Hemoglobins analysis, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Nutritional Requirements, Serum Albumin analysis, Transferrin analysis, Vitamin B Complex blood, Vitamin B Deficiency diagnosis, Anemia diagnosis, Avitaminosis, Protein-Energy Malnutrition diagnosis, Surgical Procedures, Operative
- Abstract
Indices of nutritional state were measured in 105 surgical patients. The indices were chosen to give information on protein-calorie malnutrition, anaemia, vitamin deficiency. Abnormal values for the various indices were common in the group as a whole and most frequent (50%) in patients who were still in hospital more than a week after major surgery. These patients had a high frequency of anaemia, vitamin deficiency, weight-loss, loss of arm-muscle bulk, and low plasma levels of transferrin and albumin. These abnormalities had gone almost entirely unrecognised, even in patients with sepsis after major surgery, who would benefit from improvement in nutritional state.
- Published
- 1977
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