Enteral vs Parenteral Nutrition After Major Abdominal Surgery: An Even Match
- Bossola, M
- Pacelli, F
- Papa, V.
ABSTRACT:
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).
Conclusions:
The present study failed to demonstrate that enteral feeding following major abdominal surgery reduces postoperative complications and mortality when compared with parenteral nutrition. (Arch Surg 136:933–936, 2001)