One hundred and twenty-nine patients undergoing orthopaedic surgical
procedures were found to have an average incidence of clinical and
subclinical malnutrition of 42.4 per cent per patient. The lowest incidence
of nutritional depletion was identified in patients undergoing total
hip-replacement surgery (28.6 per cent), followed by the elective surgical
group (35.3 per cent) and patients with multiple trauma and femoral
fractures (58.6 per cent). Trauma and major surgery were shown to induce a
state of malnutrition and a loss of immunocompetence. A significant (p less
than 0.05) correlation between subnormal nutritional indices and the
development of complications was identified. A comprehensive approach to
the detection and correction of malnutrition in orthopaedic patients is
described.