Early enteral feeding for burned patients--an effective method which should be encouraged in developing countries

A randomized control trial was conducted to investigate impact of early enteral feeding on immune, metabolic aspects and outcomes of 82 severe burned patients admitting to National Institute of Burns, Hanoi, Vietnam from November 2003 to November 2004. Fourty-one patients were in early enteral group and 41 patients were in total parenteral nutrition group. Blood samples were collected at admission and 7th day postburn to determine plasma level of IgG, IgM, insulin, corrtisol and blood absolute number of TCD4, TCD8. Intestinal chyme was drawn through a weighted feeding tube to determine intestinal secreted IgA. Results showed that, at the 7th day after burn, both humoral and cellular immunology recovered faster in enteral nutrition group as compared to total parenteral group (p<0.05). In the early enteral nutrition group, after 1 week, plasma concentration of cortisol decreased from 599.70 to 437nmol/l and that of insulin increased from 12.07 to 30.34micromol/ml. Vice versa, in the control group the change was in the reverse direction (p<0.01). Overall complication decreased in the enteral nutrition group in comparison with parenteral group. Finally, mortality was significantly lower in early enteral nutrition group as compared to the parenteral group (14.65% and 36.58%, respectively). In conclusion, early enteral nutrition after burn has positive effects on immune and metabolic function, and reduces complication as well as death rate.