• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Thursday, October 2, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Health

Scientists find out how nutrition affects the recovery of patients after cardiac surgery

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
December 28, 2020
in Health
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
IMAGE
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

People with valvular heart disease have appeared to be at risk.

IMAGE

Credit: SPbU

Nutrients are the structural components of food that the body needs to function properly. They are divided into macronutrients (proteins, fats, carbohydrates) and micronutrients (vitamins, provitamins, various minerals, and so on). Their shortage is called nutritional deficiency.

‘Modern medicine pays little attention to nutritional deficiencies in cardiac surgery patients. At the same time, in oncology, paediatrics, gastroenterology, nutrition is treated more closely. To remedy this situation, in 2011 we began a study that included the task of identifying the
prevalence of nutritional deficiency among those who underwent cardiac surgery,’ says Sergey Efremov, the main author of the article, an anaesthesiologist-resuscitator, Head of the Research Department at the Pirogov Clinic of High Medical Technologies, St Petersburg University.

In medicine, there is a special term – cardiac cachexia. It is the extreme emaciation of the body in patients with severe cardiac failure. The reasons can be many: from low cardiac output to drugs that suppress appetite. Symptoms of cardiac cachexia include weakness and rapid weight loss. As a result, nutrients are not supplied to the body in the right quantities.

‘The problem is also complicated by the fact that most often patients with such a diagnosis do not appear to be starving. Oedema may even make them seem overweight. That is why it was of paramount importance for us to find a reliable tool for identifying this condition,’ says Sergey Efremov.

For eight years, the researchers have been monitoring more than 1,000 subjects who underwent cardiac surgery. Upon admission to the clinic, using a questionnaire survey on various scales, they found out patients’ nutritional status: a set of indicators characterising the quantitative ratio
of muscle and fat mass. They also collected other preoperative and postoperative data on study participants. Then after one, three and eight years, they were telephoned and asked about their health.

‘As a result of the study, we have found that the patient’s nutritional status has an important prognostic value, since it enables us to identify the postoperative complication rate. As expected, the higher the degree of nutritional deficiency, the higher the probability of a negative scenario.
Additionally, we have managed to identify a small group of cardiac surgery patients who are more susceptible to this condition. These are the patients with valvular heart disease,’ says Sergey Efremov.

According to Sergey Efremov, there are several scales for assessing nutritional status in the world. However, none of them has been developed specifically for patients with cardiovascular pathology. By comparing them, the researchers have selected a screening tool that has the greatest sensitivity and specificity for solving the problem. It is the MUST scale (Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool), which can be introduced into the everyday work of clinics. Any medical worker in the emergency department is able to assess the patient’s condition with its help. To do this, it is necessary to just ask a few simple questions. If the scale reveals malnutrition, a doctor will join the case to find out detailed information about the patient’s nutritional status.

‘The Pirogov Clinic has recently become a part of St Petersburg University. And for us, its employees, it is very important to integrate with other departments of the University within the framework of project activities. That is why I am very pleased that students from the Faculty of Medicine at St Petersburg University took part in this research. They were actively engaged in collecting, systematising and analysing data. Largely thanks to their contribution, it became possible to complete this study,’ notes Sergey Efremov.

The scientists see continuation of work in the search for solutions to improve the condition of patients with nutritional deficiencies. In particular, they plan to investigate the efficiency of various clinical nutritional formulas in cardiac surgery.

###

Media Contact
Polina Ogorodnikova
[email protected]

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2020.111057

Tags: CardiologyMedicine/HealthNutrition/NutrientsRehabilitation/Prosthetics/Plastic Surgery
Share13Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Exploring Disordered Eating and Identity in Students

October 2, 2025

Sudden Death Post-Aortic Valve Replacement Reveals Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

October 2, 2025

Exploring ICU Nurses’ CRRT Downtime Management Insights

October 2, 2025

New Paradigm in Bacteroidota Protein Biogenesis

October 2, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    90 shares
    Share 36 Tweet 23
  • Physicists Develop Visible Time Crystal for the First Time

    74 shares
    Share 30 Tweet 19
  • New Study Indicates Children’s Risk of Long COVID Could Double Following a Second Infection – The Lancet Infectious Diseases

    69 shares
    Share 28 Tweet 17
  • How Donor Human Milk Storage Impacts Gut Health in Preemies

    64 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Exploring Disordered Eating and Identity in Students

Cysteine Boosts Gut Stem Cells via IL-22

Sudden Death Post-Aortic Valve Replacement Reveals Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Success! An email was just sent to confirm your subscription. Please find the email now and click 'Confirm' to start subscribing.

Join 60 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.