Preoperative outpatient nutritional support of patients with squamous cancer of the upper aerodigestive tract.

In this study, 59 percent of the patients with squamous cancer of the upper aerodigestive tract were considered malnourished by the independent evaluation of a registered dietitian. Malnourished patients tended to present in a more advanced stage of disease, underwent more extensive operative procedures, had more complications, experienced longer hospital stay, and had a higher proportion of irradiated patients compared with patients who were nutritionally healthy. Malnourished patients who received nutritional support preoperatively demonstrated lower complication rates and shorter lengths of hospital stay compared with malnourished patients who underwent similar operative procedures without preoperative nutritional supplementation.