The Type of Gastrectomy and Modified Frailty Index as Useful Predictive Indicators for One-Year Readmission Due to Nutritional Difficulty in Patients Who Undergo Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer.

Background Patients who undergo gastrectomy for gastric cancer are likely to have nutritional difficulty after surgery. Therefore, readmission due to nutritional difficulty is frequently observed in such patients. This study aimed to identify predictive indicators for readmission due to nutritional difficulty in patients who underwent gastrectomy for gastric cancer. Methods We retrospectively reviewed surgical outcomes in 516 consecutive patients who underwent gastrectomy for gastric cancer. Results The readmission rate within one year was 13.8%. Readmission due to nutritional difficulty was observed in 20 patients (3.9%), and nutritional difficulty was the second leading cause of readmission. Multivariate analysis revealed that the type of gastrectomy and the modified frailty index were independent predictive indicators of readmission due to nutritional difficulty. The readmission rates due to nutritional difficulty were 1.2%, 4.7%, and 11.5% in patients who underwent distal partial gastrectomy and had low modified frailty index, in those who underwent distal partial gastrectomy and had high modified frailty index or those who underwent either proximal partial or total gastrectomy and had low modified frailty index, and in those who underwent either proximal partial or total gastrectomy and had high modified frailty index, respectively (P = 0.0008). Conclusions Because the readmission rate due to nutritional difficulty is high in patients who underwent either total or proximal partial gastrectomy with high modified frailty index, intensive follow-up and nutritional support is needed to reduce readmission due to nutritional difficulty, which can help improve the patients’ quality of life and reduce additional medical costs.