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Enteral vs parenteral nutrition after major abdominal surgery: an even match
1Department of Digestive Surgery, Istituto di Clinica Chirurgica, Catholic University School of Medicine, Largo A. Gemelli, 8, 00168 Rome, Italy. fpacelli@hotmail.com
Hypothesis:
Immediate enteral feeding following major abdominal surgery reduces postoperative complications and mortality when compared with parenteral nutrition.
Design:
A prospective multicenter randomized trial.
Setting:
A university hospital department of digestive surgery.
Patients And Interventions:
Two hundred forty-one malnourished patients undergoing major elective abdominal surgery were randomly assigned to receive, after surgery, either enteral (enteral nutrition group: 119 patients) or parenteral nutrition (total parenteral nutrition group: 122 patients). The patients were monitored for postoperative complications and mortality.
Results:
The rate of major postoperative complications was similar in the enteral and parenteral groups (enteral nutrition group: 37.8%; total parenteral nutrition group: 39.3%; P was not significant), as were the overall postoperative mortality rates (5.9% and 2.5%, respectively; P was not significant).
Conclusion:
The present study failed to demonstrate that enteral feeding following major abdominal surgery reduces postoperative complications and mortality when compared with parenteral nutrition.