Effect of Oral Protein Supplementation on Postoperative Complications in Elderly Sarcopenic Cancerous Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Sarcopenia is a condition of reduced skeletal muscle mass associated with aging process leading to decrease muscle strength and function. International Working Group on Sarcopenia defines Sarcopenia as an age-associated loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, and the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) defines sarcopenia as a syndrome characterized by progressive and generalized loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength with a risk of adverse outcomes such as physical disability, poor quality of life, and death. The prevalence of sarcopenia is higher in population older than 65 years and leading to poor outcomes such as mobility disorders, disability, poor quality of life and death. Sarcopenia is also associated with an increased risk of postoperative complications such as overgrowth of bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract, postoperative infections, sepsis, delayed wound healing prolonged inpatient rehabilitation, mortality and consequently a longer length of hospital stay, even without nutritional risk.

Sarcopenia contains multifactorial etiology, such as age-related, inadequate energy and/or protein intake, sedentary activity such as bed rest, and coexisting disease such as organ failure, inflammatory disease or endocrine disease. One important goal of developing treatment strategies in sarcopenic patients is to achieve protein and energy requirements. In preoperative patients, daily consumption of protein should be at least 1.2-2.0 g of protein/kg/day or 25-35 g of protein in a meal to provide muscular protein synthesis. Perioperative oral protein supplements have been demonstrated to increase serum albumin and total protein, improve postoperative functional walking capacity and decrease postoperative infection in elderly or critically ill patients. However, there have been no studies on the benefit of preoperative protein supplement in cancerous patients.

The objective of this study is to show that preoperative enteral protein supplementation in elderly cancerous patients, who are diagnosed with sarcopenia, can decrease morbidity such as postoperative complications; mortality and improve postoperative clinical outcomes after elective surgery.