Abstract

FELICISSIMO, Paulo  and  BRANCO, Jaime. Envelhecimento, metabolismo e nutrição no doente ortopédico. Rev. Port. Ortop. Traum. [online]. 2017, vol.25, n.3, pp.186-192. ISSN 1646-2122.

Aging is often accompanied by decreased basal metabolism. There are several factors that determine their appearance. As a result of these factors the prevalence of malnutrition varies between 5-20% in elderly community residents and more than 60% in institutionalized elderly. In this work the authors carried out a review of the literature on the subject between 1980 and 2016. Several studies point to an increased risk of infection in orthopedic surgery associated with malnutrition. In scientific literature, several methods have been used to identify malnutrition: serological laboratory values, anthropometric measurements or the use of score system. Among these the “Rayney-MacDonald nutritional index” is one of the most used and uses the serum levels of albumin and transferrin to make the calculation for identifying the patient nutritional status. It is important for orthopedic services to develop a methodology for assessing the nutritional status of patients, especially the elderly as in the case of patients with hip fractures in order to correct deficiencies and prevent complications.

Keywords : Aging; elderly nutrition physiology; orthopedic surgery.

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