Preoperative Nutritional Assessment by Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) is Useful to estimate Postoperative Morbidity After Esophagectomy for Esophageal Cancer

Background A nutritional indicator suitable for predicting complications after esophagectomy has not been confirmed. The nutritional screening tool CONUT is a potential candidate. Methods We retrospectively analyzed 352 patients who underwent elective esophagectomy with lymphadenectomy for esophageal cancer between April 2005 and December 2014. Patients were divided into three groups according to the malnutrition degree in controlling nutritional status (CONUT): normal, light malnutrition, moderate or severe malnutrition. Results The numbers of patients assigned to the normal, light malnutrition, and moderate or severe malnutrition groups were 205, 126, and 21, respectively. One hundred forty-seven (41.8 %) patients were considered malnourished. Patients with moderate or severe malnutrition had a significantly high incidence of any morbidity, severe morbidities, and surgical site infection. Hospital stay in patients with moderate or severe malnutrition was significantly longer. Logistic regression analysis suggested that moderate or severe malnutrition was an independent risk factor for any morbidity [hazard ratio (HR) 2.75, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.081–7.020; p = 0.034] and severe morbidities (HR 3.07, 95 % CI 1.002–9.432; p = 0.049). Conclusions CONUT was a convenient and useful tool to assess nutritional status before esophagectomy. Patients with moderate or severe malnutrition according to CONUT are at high risk for postoperative complications.