Surgical Nutrition — General Surgery

Surgical Nutrition MCQs: practice questions

Sample Surgical Nutrition multiple-choice questions from General Surgery.

1. When should enteral feeding generally be initiated in a stable critically ill surgical patient?

   • A. As early as clinically appropriate after stabilization
   • B. Protein
   • C. Catheter-related bloodstream infection
   • D. Gastrostomy
   • E. Meet energy and protein needs while supporting healing and preserving lean mass

2. What is the major advantage of enteral nutrition over parenteral nutrition?

   • A. Enteral nutrition
   • B. Delay gastric feeding and use an appropriate distal enteral route if feasible
   • C. Aspiration
   • D. It maintains gastrointestinal mucosal function
   • E. Marked loss of lean body mass

3. Which hormone rises after carbohydrate-rich nutrition and drives cellular anabolic processes?

   • A. Parenteral nutrition
   • B. It is an important fuel for enterocytes and immune cells
   • C. Insulin
   • D. Thiamine
   • E. Zinc

4. Why is glutamine sometimes emphasized in severe illness?

   • A. It maintains gastrointestinal mucosal function
   • B. Negative nitrogen balance
   • C. Inflammation changes albumin distribution and synthesis
   • D. It is an important fuel for enterocytes and immune cells
   • E. Delay gastric feeding and use an appropriate distal enteral route if feasible

5. Which laboratory abnormality is especially important to monitor during refeeding?

   • A. Rapid nutritional replenishment in a severely malnourished patient
   • B. Hypophosphatemia
   • C. Marked loss of lean body mass
   • D. Negative nitrogen balance
   • E. Hypophosphatemia with weakness or respiratory compromise

6. A patient has prolonged postoperative ileus but a functional distal intestine. Which strategy is most appropriate?

7. Which macronutrient provides the greatest energy density?

8. Which complication is particularly associated with central venous parenteral nutrition?

9. Albumin is a poor isolated marker of nutritional status in acute illness because

10. A postoperative patient has a high nitrogen loss. This indicates

11. Which trace element is essential for collagen synthesis and wound healing?

12. Which patient is the strongest indication for parenteral nutrition?

13. Which condition increases nutritional requirements substantially?

14. Which route of enteral access is most appropriate for short-term gastric feeding?

15. Which clinical state most increases protein requirements?

16. Which enteral access is better suited to prolonged feeding when oral intake is inadequate?

17. A patient receiving prolonged total parenteral nutrition develops cholestatic liver abnormalities. This is

18. Which electrolyte is classically depleted during refeeding syndrome?

19. Which vitamin should be given before or with carbohydrate refeeding in high-risk malnourished patients?

20. A patient cannot use the GI tract for several weeks but has adequate venous access. The appropriate nutrition is

21. What is the goal of nutritional support in a surgical patient?

22. Which approach best prevents nutrition-related complications?

23. Which route is preferred for nutritional support when the gastrointestinal tract is functional?

24. Which finding is most concerning for severe protein-calorie malnutrition?

25. Which vitamin deficiency impairs collagen hydroxylation and wound healing?

26. Refeeding syndrome is most strongly associated with

27. Which clinical finding is most suggestive of clinically important refeeding syndrome after nutrition is started?

28. Which nutrient is especially important for oxygen transport?

29. Which complication is more common with enteral than parenteral feeding?

30. Which macronutrient is most important for maintaining nitrogen balance and tissue repair?