[Preoperative preparation and nutrition in colorectal cancer]

Pre-operative nutrition in patients with colon/rectum cancer is important in ensuring that they are suitably prepared for the operation. Two pre-operative methods for preparation on the colon were compared: the first is that we normally use, of five days of residue-free hospital meals, cleansing enemas, laxatives and three litres of polyethylene glucol solution. The new method we describe is easy enough to be implemented by the patient at home, and combines enhanced nutrition with an excellent level of intra-colon cleaning: it involves the exclusive administration for four days of Ensure HN (a complete, defined, pre-prepared low-fibre diet, in a variety of flavours) and the application of two cleansing enemas the evening prior to the operation. Eighteen parameters were assessed, on the entry of each patient to the study, on the day of the operation, and six days following the operations; the parameters obtained after the trial show statistically significant differences (p < 0.05-p < 0.001) in favour of the second method for 17 of the parameters, following preparation; when each group was compared within itself prior to and following preparation. The values for all but two parameters were seen to drop, notably proteins, by 28.37% (p < 0.01), weight by 8.17%, albumin by 3.43% and hemoglobin by 17.72%, in the first group while, in the second, there were rises in proteins (3.72%), albumin (7.26%), hemoglobin (5.48%), leukocytes, calcium and triglycerides. The level of cleansing of the intestine continued to be excellent, without significant differences between the two methods.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)