[Nutritional and immunologic state of patients undergoing heart valve surgery]

A series of 60 consecutive patients treated by heart valve replacement surgery under extracorporeal circulation were reviewed. Poor nutrition was assessed in 28% of these cases, the cardiac index in these patients being significantly smaller than in operated patients with normal nutritional states (2.07 +/- 0.8 as against 2.46 +/- 0.7, p less than 0.01). Furthermore, 58% of those with poor nutrition presented postoperative complications: mediastinitis, wound infection, ventricular arrhythmias or secondary pulmonary infection. One death occurred in this group. Postoperative complications in patients with normal nutritional states developed in only 6% and there were no deaths. Duration of hospital stay was significantly longer in patients with poor nutrition (p less than 0.05). Apart from immunoglobulin levels, all immunologic parameters underwent postoperative modifications related to nutritional state. Physiopathologic hypotheses are proposed as well as a programme for increasing nutritional intake in patients in a precarious metabolic state which predisposes them to complications.