Nutritional risk index in hepatitis B virus-related liver cancer: Infection prediction and prognosis

Surgical treatment for primary liver cancer can effectively reduce infection risks. Accurate prediction is crucial for timely intervention, particularly to reduce the risk of infection.

To explore the predictive and prognostic value of the nutritional risk index (NRI) in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related liver cancer.

Ninety-six patients with HBV-related primary liver cancer who underwent surgery at our hospital between May 2022 and May 2024 were included. Patients were classified into infection and non-infection groups, and the NRI was compared. The infection group was further divided into mild and severe infection groups and then into survival and deceased groups, and the NRI was compared. Postoperative follow-up lasted 6 months. The predictive value of NRI for surgical site infections (SSIs), severity of infections, and prognostic assessment was analyzed.

Compared with patients with mild infection, those with severe infections had a significantly lower NRI (P < 0.05). Compared with patients with mild infections, those with severe infections had a significantly higher NRI (P < 0.05). The NRI was significantly lower in the good prognosis group than in the poor prognosis group (P < 0.05). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the areas under the curve for NRI in predicting SSIs, infection severity, and patient prognosis were 0.984, 0.986, and 0.949, respectively.

The NRI can accurately predict postoperative SSIs in patients with HBV-related primary liver cancer and plays a role in predicting the severity of infections and in prognostic assessment.