Prognostic significance of the Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score in predicting postoperative complications in patients with Crohn's disease

Preoperative immune-nutritional status is correlated with postoperative outcomes. The Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score is a useful tool for predicting the postoperative outcomes of cancer surgery. This study aimed to evaluate whether the CONUT score could predict postoperative complications in Crohn's disease (CD) patients. In total, 202 CD patients were eligible. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify risk factors for postoperative complications. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated to examine the cutoff value for predictors of postoperative complications. Among all the patients, 66 developed postoperative complications. The cut-off value of the CONUT score was 3.5 for complications. Eighty-one patients had a low CONUT score (< 3.5), and 121 patients had a high CONUT score (> 3.5). There was a significant difference in postoperative complications between the groups with low and high CONUT score (17.3% vs. 43.0%, p < 0.001). Patients with high CONUT score had low body mass index (BMI), more mild postoperative complications (p = 0.001) and a longer postoperative stay (p = 0.002). Postoperative complications were correlated with BMI, preoperative albumin, the preoperative CONUT score, and preoperative infliximab use. Then, the preoperative CONUT score was an independent risk factor for complications (OR 3.507, 95% CI 1.522-8.079, p = 0.003). ROC analysis showed that the CONUT score was a better predictor of postoperative complications in CD patients than albumin and the prognostic nutritional index. Thus, a preoperative CONUT score cut-off value of more than 3.5 could help to identify patients with a high possibility of malnutrition and postoperative complications.