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Hand grip strength--a simple prognostic indicator in surgical patients
JPEN. Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition
|November 1, 1985
Summary
Hand grip strength effectively indicates nutritional status and predicts postoperative complications. Impaired nutrition, identified by grip strength, correlates with increased complications and longer hospital stays.
Area of Science:
- Clinical Nutrition
- Surgical Outcomes
- Biomarkers
Background:
- Nutritional status significantly impacts patient recovery and surgical outcomes.
- Identifying reliable indicators of nutritional status is crucial for preoperative risk assessment.
- Postoperative complications are a major concern in surgical patient management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate hand grip strength as a simple indicator of nutritional status.
- To assess the predictive value of hand grip strength for postoperative complications.
- To compare hand grip strength with other nutritional parameters in predicting surgical outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Preoperative assessment of hand grip strength and various nutritional parameters in 205 patients.
- Inclusion of midarm muscle circumference, forearm muscle circumference, triceps skinfold, percentage ideal body weight, serum albumin, and percent usual weight.
- Monitoring for and recording of postoperative complications.
Main Results:
- A total of 28 patients (14%) experienced postoperative complications.
- Patients with at least one abnormal nutritional parameter exhibited a higher incidence of complications.
- Abnormal nutritional status was associated with significantly longer total and postoperative hospitalizations (p < 0.01).
Conclusions:
- Hand grip strength is a sensitive and simple measure of nutritional status.
- Forearm muscle circumference and percentage ideal body weight demonstrated high specificity.
- Hand grip strength serves as an accurate prognostic indicator for postoperative complications, warranting further clinical validation.