Surgeons' knowledge and attitude regarding concepts of nutritional therapy

To compare the knowledge of nutritional therapy (NT) of surgery residents and surgeons.

We applied two standardized questionnaires on knowledge, attitude and behavior regarding NT to 50 physicians (35 residents and 15 surgeons) of 12 different surgical areas. We compared the proportions of hits according to the perception on the subject of each group using the Fisher exact test, with 5% significance and p < 0.05.

More than 80% did not feel safe regarding NT and 46% denied knowledge of the NT multidisciplinary team (NTMT). There was a higher percentage of correct answers among residents in the items: surgical trauma and its nutritional influence on the patient (p = 0.047); normal BMI (p = 0.036); preoperative NT (p = 0.007); and indication of preoperative NT in the group that referred that to interact with the NTMT (p = 0.02). Among surgeons: complications of NT and NT in previously malnourished patients (p = 0.044); and methods for assessing preoperative nutritional status in the group that referred to interact with the NTMT (p =0.01).

there are gaps in medical education. Only 13.3% were confident about NT, and their knowledge did not justify such confidence. There were no differences between the successes of confident and non-confident about NT in most subjects. The best results came from the group that claimed to be assisted by any NTMT. Better medical educational programs should be goal for this university.