The prognostic nutritional index is correlated negatively with the lung allocation score and predicts survival after both cadaveric and living-donor lobar lung transplantation

Purpose: The prognostic nutritional index (PNI), calculated based on the serum albumin levels and the total lymphocyte count, has been identified as a predictor of clinical outcomes in various fields of surgery. In this study, we investigated the relationship between the PNI and the lung allocation score (LAS) as well as the impact of the PNI on the outcomes of both cadaveric lung transplantation (CLT) and living-donor lobar lung transplantation (LDLLT). Methods: We reviewed retrospective data for 127 recipients of lung transplantation (LT), including 71 recipients of CLT and 56 recipients of LDLLT. Results: The PNI was correlated significantly and negatively with the LAS (r = − 0.40, P = 0.0000037). Multivariate analysis revealed that age (P = 0.00093), BMI (P = 0.00087), and PNI (P = 0.0046) were independent prognostic factors of a worse outcome after LT. In a subgroup analysis, survival after both CLT (P = 0.015) and LDLLT (P = 0.041) was significantly worse in the low PNI group than in the high PNI group. Conclusion: Preoperative nutritional evaluations using the PNI can assist with the assessment of disease severity in LT recipients and may predict survival after both CLT and LDLLT.