Perioperative Nutrition: The Next Big Focus of Orthopedic Research ?

Despite its historically siloed role in medicine, nutrition is rapidly emerging as a powerful perioperative tool to optimize surgical outcomes. Unrecognized malnutrition affects up to 50% of hospitalized patients, and mounting evidence shows that strategic nutritional interventions—such as carbohydrate loading, oral supplements, and immunonutrition—can mitigate the stress response to surgery, improve recovery, and reduce complications. This Insight explores the metabolic cascade triggered by surgery, its impact on healing, and how innovations like Duke’s POET program are reshaping orthopaedic care by integrating pre- and post-operative nutrition into routine surgical pathways.