Impact of Preoperative Nutritional Status on Wound Healing Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Abdominal Surgery

Abstract

Background: Postoperative healing of the wound is a critical component of post-surgery recovery and may be impacted by various patient-related conditions. The recovery of surgical procedures can be affected in areas that experience common nutritional deficiencies. Although there is current global awareness regarding its role, there is a lack of research explaining this relationship in the Pakistani population. This research examines the relationship between preoperative nutrition and postoperative wound healing in patients under surgery in tertiary care hospitals in Islamabad.

Methods: This study was a prospective cohort study carried out between February and June 2025. A convenience sampling of 387 adult patients who had an abdominal surgery was recruited. The data collection was conducted using a structured questionnaire that contained demographic and detailed information on the variables, including the Nutritional Risk Screening (NRS 2002) and postoperative wound outcomes, as assessed by the Southampton Wound Assessment Scale (SWAS). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS v.26. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and linear regression tests were employed to investigate the relationship between nutritional risk and wound healing.

Results: The nutritional risk scores were significantly higher among females (M = 7.18, SD = 1.34) than males (M = 6.88, SD = 1.22), p = 0.021. Nutritional risk was significantly but weakly related to scores on the SWAS (r = 0.116, p = 0.022), indicating that the worse the nutritional status, the poorer the healing outcome. Regression analysis confirmed that nutritional risk was a significant predictor of wound severity (p = 0.022). The wound scores were higher in older age groups, but the nutritional risk did not vary significantly between age categories.

Conclusion: The research suggests a significant correlation between inadequate preoperative nutritional status and delayed wound healing. Patients with poor dietary status had unfavourable postoperative outcomes. This evidence suggests conducting a regular nutritional screening process to enhance postoperative recovery and alleviate surgical wound complications among patients undergoing abdominal surgery.