Nursing care for monitoring of the malnutrition in patients cardiac surgery

Abstract

              Malnutritions are common in cardiac surgery patient under critical care. The pathophysiology of symptoms in pre-, during, and post-surgery are intercorrelated. Beginning with increased metabolism and inflammatory response in pre-surgery phase including decreased intestine-blood circulation can have effect to digestion and nutrient absorbtion dysfunction. In addition, Limitation of nutrition care in post-surgery phase causes insufficient basal energy intake leading to malnutrition in the patients. This malnutrition symptom is correlated to longer surgical wound healing, longer hospital length of stay, and increased mortality rate. Nurse have major roles in malnutrition assessment in pre-, during, and post-surgery in order to follow up the sign and symptoms of
malnutrition continuously as well as overall health outcome of cardiac surgery patients.
              In this work, nutrition status of cardiac surgery patient under critical care; nutrition assessment in pre-, during, and post-surgery; daily dietary requirement assessment, and nurse’s role in nutrition status care were discussed in order to emphasize the importance of continuous malnutrition care as one of the nurse’s major roles.