Energy Expenditure After Liver Resection: Validation of a Mobile Device for Estimating Resting Energy Expenditure and an Investigation of Energy Expenditure Change After Liver Resection.

BACKGROUND

Resting energy expenditure (REE) is the major component of total energy expenditure. REE is traditionally performed by indirect calorimetry (IC) and is not well investigated after liver surgery. A mobile device (SenseWear Armband [SWA]) has been validated when estimating REE in other clinical settings but not liver resection. The aims of this study are to validate SWA vs IC, quantify REE change following liver resection, and determine factors associated with REE change.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Patients listed for open liver resection prospectively underwent IC and SWA REE recordings pre- and postoperatively. In addition, the SWA was worn continuously postoperatively to estimate daily REE for the first 5 postoperative days. To determine acceptability of the SWA, validation analysis was performed. To assess REE change, peak postoperative REE was compared with preoperative levels. Factors associated with REE change were also analyzed.

RESULTS

SWA showed satisfactory validity compared with IC when estimating REE, although postoperatively, the 95% levels of agreement (-5.56 to 3.18 kcal/kg/d) may introduce error. Postoperative REE (median, 23.5 kcal/kg/d; interquartile range [IQR], 22.6-25.7 kcal/kg/d) was significantly higher than predicted REE (median, 19.7 kcal/kg/d; IQR, 19.1-21.0 kcal/kg/d; P < .0001). Median REE rise was 11% (IQR, -1% to 25%). Factors associated with REE rise of >11% were age ( P = .017) and length of operation ( P = .03).

CONCLUSIONS

SWA offers a suitable alternative to IC when estimating postoperative REE, but the magnitude of the error (8.74 kcal/kg/d) could hinder its accuracy. REE quantification after liver resection is important to identify patients who could be prone to energy imbalance and therefore malnutrition.