Nutritional Support Practices After Major Abdominal Surgery at Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti

Postoperative nutritional support following major abdominal surgery is essential for promoting wound healing, restoring immune function, and reducing complications, yet structured nutritional care pathways are rarely implemented in Nigerian surgical units. This study evaluates postoperative nutritional support practices at Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH), Ido-Ekiti, Ekiti State, South West Nigeria, from 2021 to 2023. A prospective study enrolled 100 patients who underwent major abdominal surgery, following them through the first 10 postoperative days. Nutritional status was assessed preoperatively and at postoperative day 7 using the Nutritional Risk Screening (NRS-2002) tool. Dietary intake, route of nutrition (oral, enteral, parenteral), and clinical outcomes were documented. Sixty-one percent of patients were nutritionally at risk preoperatively. Postoperative nutritional support was initiated within 48 hours in only 38% of cases. Parenteral nutrition was used in 14% of patients but often without dietitian involvement. Weight loss exceeding 5% of preoperative weight occurred in 43% of patients by day 7. Malnutrition was significantly associated with wound complications (p=0.003) and prolonged hospital stay. The study recommends routine preoperative nutritional screening, early enteral nutrition protocols, and dietitian integration into surgical care teams at FTH Ido-Ekiti and analogous facilities in South West Nigeria. Keywords: postoperative nutrition, enteral feeding, malnutrition, Ido-Ekiti, surgical recovery