[Usefulness of the CONUT Score for Predicting the Risk of Surgical Site Infections]

Surgical site infections(SSIs)occur at a high frequency in patients after rectal cancer surgery and are readily aggravated. Therefore, prophylactic measures for infections based on the evaluation of the patient's perioperative risk are very important. We investigated risk factors of SSI onset in patients after rectal cancer surgery.

In total, 66 patients with rectal cancer who underwent resection in our department between January 2015 and December 2016 were retrospectively examined.

The patients in our study included 38 men and 28 women with a median age of 66 years and a median BMI of 21.3 kg/m2. Fifteen patients underwent laparotomy and 51 underwent laparoscopy. Among 66 patients, 24 had an artificial anus. The median operative time was 367 minutes, median bleeding loss was 100 mL, and median Controlling Nutritional Status(CONUT)score was 2. Twenty patients developed SSI after rectal cancer surgery. Univariate analysis demonstrated that operative time(p=0.004, OR: 1.005, 95%CI: 1.002-1.009)and CONUT score(p=0.035, OR: 1.386, 95%CI: 1.023-1.878) were significant risk factors for SSI development. Multivariate analysis also demonstrated that operative time(p=0.003, OR: 1.006, 95%CI: 1.002-1.010)and CONUT score(p=0.025, OR: 1.508, 95%CI: 1.053-2.161)were significant risk factors for SSI development.

The CONUT score was identified as a significant preoperative risk factor for SSI after rectal cancer surgery in both the univariate and multivariate analyses. Therefore, the preoperative evaluation using the CONUT score may be useful for predicting the risk of SSI in patients undergoing rectal cancer surgery.