Knowledge, attitudes and practice of surgeons regarding nutritional support in CRS and HIPEC patients: Are we missing something?

Abstract

Nutrition’s impact on the surgical outcome has been established in various surgical specialties. However, data addressing the nutritional aspect following surgery for peritoneal surface malignancies are considered scarce. We aim to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practice of surgeons regarding their nutritional support for patients undergoing cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS and HIPEC) via a survey directed to self-evaluate nutritional knowledge, screening, and practice toward patients. The survey was submitted to the attendees of the International Regional Cancer Therapies Symposium. The response rate was 37% (56/151). Most surgeons estimated their knowledge and malnutrition screening skills in CRS and HIPEC to be ‘adequate’ or better. Only 35.19% reported the availability of nutritional screening and assessment tools for CRS and HIPEC patients. 86.5% of participants stated that their CRS and HIPEC patients have access to a dietitian on inpatient and outpatient basis. However, only 32.69% reported to ‘always’ consult a dietitian. Otherwise, the involvement of a nutrition specialist is considered on variable basis. Despite the consensus on the importance of nutrition in HIPEC patients, there appears to be a profound underutilization of nutrition specialists in the patients’ management, which may have had in impact on their surgical outcome.