[Postoperative early enteral nutrition in a patient with polytrauma and late duodenal perforation]

We present the case of a 51 years old multiple injured female patient who was transferred from another hospital. She suffered a car accident and at admission, the diagnosis was anterior flail chest with fractured sternum, blunt abdominal trauma with IIIrd grade kidney laceration, multiple extremities fractures, ISS = 50. We performed emergency nephrectomy, surgical fixation of the flail chest and bilateral pleurostomy. Postoperatively the evolution was difficult, she was intubated and mechanically ventilated. We started early enteral nutrition (EEN), at 24 hours with 20 ml/hour Fresubin (Fresenius-Kabi, Bad Hamburg, Germany) and then with 40 ml/hour. In the fourth postoperative day, CT scan identified no supplementary lesions. In the seventh postoperative day, jaundice became apparent and the CT exam identified gas in the retroperitoneum. At surgery, we identified a IInd degree D2 rupture. We practiced duodenal suture, pyloric exclusion, latero-lateral gastro-entero-anastomosis. We passed a naso-gastro-entero-duodenal tube into D2 for active suction and we performed a fine needle catheter jejunostomy. Difficult postoperative evolution, intubated, febrile, with hemodynamic instability. EEN on the jejunostomy at 20-40-60 ml/hour. 10 days after the reoperation, the general condition ameliorated. Enteral nutrition was continued for 22 days after reoperation. The patient was discharged after 44 days. The particularities of this case are the complexity of the traumatic lesions: anterior costal flail chest, left kidney rupture, late duodenal perforation, multiple extremities fractures (APACHE II score = 34). The treatment involved internal pneumatic stabilization and surgical fixation of the flail chest, duodenal suture with pyloric exclusion and fine needle catheter jejunostomy, left nephrectomy. We consider that the use of EEN was of real help in this case and we recommend it in all polytraumatised patients and in all the cases where it can be used.