Nutritional status and function in patients following Whipple procedure compared with controls.

OBJECTIVE

Despite the potential for nutritional deficits in patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy or Whipple procedure, long-term assessment of nutritional status has largely been ignored. This study assessed nutritional status of 24 Whipple patients compared with matched post-cholecystectomy controls.

METHODS

Clinical assessment was by subjective global assessment, body composition was assessed by bioelectric impedance analysis and functional assessment was by respiratory muscle strength and skeletal muscle function performed by electrical stimulation of the ulnar nerve of the wrist and hand-grip dynamometry.

RESULTS

Whipple patients studied 4.6+/-0.7 years since surgery and controls (4.8+/-0.7 years since surgery) were all judged clinically to be in a good nutritional state. Compared with controls, Whipple patients had significantly lower body weight (Whipple: 72.5+/-2.8 kg, control: 83.9+/-3.3 kg, p<0.05) however, the mean body weight of both Whipple and controls was above ideal weight (Whipple: 113.3+/-4.3%, control: 122.3+/-3.7% p = NS). No significant differences in functional performance were observed between groups. Energy intake of Whipple and controls was also comparable. In the Whipple group, neither the extent of gastric resection or the pathological diagnosis had an effect on the nutritional parameters studied.

CONCLUSIONS

Long-term follow-up of patients having undergone Whipple procedure failed to reveal the presence of any nutritional or functional deficits suggesting that a full nutritional recovery is possible after this surgery.