The prognostic nutritional index on postoperative day one is associated with one-year mortality after burn surgery in elderly patients.

Background Burn injury in elderly patients can result in poor outcomes. Prognostic nutritional index (PNI) can predict the perioperative nutritional status and postoperative outcomes. We aim to evaluate the risk factors, including PNI, for one-year mortality after burn surgery in elderly patients. Methods Burn patients aged ≥65 years were retrospectively included. PNI was calculated using the following equation: 10 × serum albumin level (g/dL) + 0.005 × total lymphocyte count (per mm3). Cox regression, receiver operating characteristic curve and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were performed to evaluate the risk factors for postoperative one-year mortality. Results Postoperative one-year mortality occurred in 71 (37.6%) of the 189 elderly burn patients. Risk factors for one-year mortality were PNI on postoperative day one (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.872; 95% CI = 0.812-0.936; p  25.5 (32.1% vs 75.9%, p  25.5. These findings indicate the importance of identifying elderly burn patients with low PNI, thereby reducing the mortality after burn surgery.