Accelerated rehabilitation with early postoperative oral feeding following gastrectomy

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of early oral feeding in patients undergoing gastrectomy.

One hundred patients undergoing gastrectomy were studied. Patients in the early oral feeding group (Early group) began a liquid diet within 48 hours after operation and patients within the Traditional group received nothing by mouth until the resolution of the ileus. All of the patients were monitored for vomiting, abdominal distention, length of ileus, tolerance of regular diet, duration of intravenous fluid administration, length of hospitalization, and complications.

The time to flatus was 55.5+/-12.5 hours and 78.0+/-22.2 hours in the Early and Traditional group, respectively (p<0.05). And fasting period was 2.14+/-1.08 days and 5.93+/-2.35 days in the Early and Traditional group, respectively (p<0.05). In addition, duration of intravenous fluid administration was shorter in the patients in the Early group compared with Traditional group (5.7+/-1.7 days vs. 9.2+/-3.9 days, p<0.05). As a result, length of postoperative hospitalization in the patients in the Early group was significantly shorter than those in the Traditional group (16.2+/-5.3 days vs. 23.4+/-9.8 days, p<0.05). The incidence of complications including nausea, vomiting, anastomotic leak and wound infection occurred equally in both groups.

Early oral feeding after gastrectomy is safe, with no evidence of increased morbidity, and early postoperative oral feeding is also highly effective in reducing hospital stay.