THE EFFECT OF LOW BODY MASS INDEX ON OUTCOME IN CRITICALLY ILL SURGICAL PATIENTS

Abstract

Background: Body mass index (BMI) has been correlated with complications and outcome in surgical patients at the two extremes of the nutrition spectrum. Objective: To study the relationship between BMI, outcome, hospital length of stay, and complications in patients admitted to the surgical intensive care unit (SICU). Design: Review of prospectively acquired data in SICU patients. Data acquired included weight, height, age, gender, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II-III scores, Simplified Acute Physiology II (SAPS II) scores, and morbidity and mortality. Patients who stayed in the unit <24 hours were excluded. Results: Of 793 patients, 706 had a normal BMI (NBMI; mean 22.12 kg/m2) and 87 were underweight (UBMI; mean 16.81 kg/m 2). There was no statistically significant difference in APACHE II-III and SAPS scores. The NBMI group had more infections, and the UBMI group had more pulmonary complications (chi2, P <18.5 kg/m2 is an independent factor affecting outcome in surgical critical care patients. © 2011 The American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.