Markers of the effectiveness of nutritional support in surgical patients (literature review)

The review article details the possibilities of assessing nutritional status in surgical patients. Nutritional status assessment should be carried out comprehensively to determine the indications and effectiveness of nutritional support: starting with screening, which takes into account clinical data, using scales and indices including blood markers, anthropometry, instrumental techniques, functional tests, which allows you to understand the degree of risk, the type of nutritional disorders and its reversibility, predict the response to nutritional support, possible complications and consequences of surgery. In the perioperative period, timely detection of latent protein and energy deficiency, proper provision of basic nutrition and fluid requirements, is especially important to prevent complications associated with nutritional deficiencies. The algorithm of applying the techniques in assessing the effectiveness of nutritional support at different stages of the perioperative period is not an easy task, and it should be noted that the tactics of nutritional support in the perioperative period among the international medical communities does not have a single approach. The article discusses in detail the screenings that identify the nutritional risks of complications and choose the tactics of monitoring or treating the patient; scales that determine the severity of nutritional deficiencies; indexes and scales that include additional blood markers and assess the severity of nutritional deficiencies. The possibility of introducing new markers of nutritional deficiency, such as prealbumin, irisin, transferrin, retinol-binding protein, which have no routine use, except for generally accepted standard indicators, will contribute to the correct assessment of the severity and effectiveness of therapy in surgical patients. Thus, it is necessary to take into account and use the most sensitive markers in various clinical situations, this will optimize the approach to patient treatment and achieve decent results.