Belly fat predicts adverse outcomes after emergency surgery

Editor's Note

A patient’s waist measurement can predict the risk of complications and death after emergency general surgery, finds this study presented October 26 at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2017 in San Diego.

Included in the study were 608 emergency general surgery patients who had preoperative CT imaging of the abdomen and pelvis; waist-to-hip ratios were calculated from the imaging (a healthy ratio should not exceed .09 for men or .85 for women).

Nearly 70% had a waist-to-hip measurement of 1 or more, and these patients had an increased:

• complication rate (44.3% vs 8.7%)
• hospital stay (5.7 days vs 2.8 days)
• mortality rate (7.7% vs 1.1%)
• 30-day readmission rate (32.5% vs 7.1%).

 The study results are important because at least two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, which means there is a large population at higher risk of poor outcomes, the researchers noted.

Belly Fat Measurement Predicts Adverse Outcomes in Emergency Surgery Patients

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