Main outcome data of the 37 elderly, malnourished patients undergoing digestive surgery according to presentation (elective v. emergency surgery) and pathology (cancer v. benign disease)
| Variable | Presentation | Pathology | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elective surgery, n = 27 | Emergency surgery, n = 10 | p value | Cancer, n = 24 | Benign disease, n = 13 | p value | |
| Patients with complications, no. (%) | 16 (59) | 10 (100) | 0.037 | 16 (67) | 10 (77) | 0.71 |
| Hospital stay, median (range) d* | 18 (6–108) | 21 (8–79) | 0.77 | 17 (6–78) | 22 (8–108) | 0.25 |
| Alive at 1 year, no. (%) | 16 (59) | 8 (80) | 0.28 | 13 (54) | 11 (85) | 0.08 |
| Responded to quality of life questionnaire, no. (%) | 14 (52) | 3 (30) | 0.29 | 12 (50) | 5 (38) | 0.73 |
| Global quality of life score, mean (SD) | 68.4 (15.9) | 69.4 (12.6) | 69.6 (13.1) | 66.6 (16.3) | 0.83 | |
BMI = body mass index; NRI = Nutritional Risk Index; SD = standard deviation.
↵* Quantitative variables (*) were compared using the Mann–Whitney U test (for n ≥ 5). Qualitative variables were compared using the Fisher exact test.