ABSTRACT
Background and
objectives:
Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) recommends avoiding
enteral nutrition (EN) due to undesirable sequelae such as pulmonary aspiration and
infections. Not using of EN in nongastric resections under ERAS pathways is often successful. However,
parenteral nutrition (PN) alone followed by early postoperative oral
feeding in
gastric cancer patients, recommended by the ERAS guidelines, has unclear benefit and is only adopted after gastric resection. This study aimed to compute the postoperative outcomes of EN and PN compared to those of the ERAS-recommended nutritional pathway. Our
secondary objective was to compare
postoperative complications between the two groups. Materials and
methods:
Of 173
gastrectomy patients, 116
patients were in the combined group (EN and PN), whereas 57
patients were in the PN alone group.
Statistical analysis was performed with the Statistical Package for the
Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26.0.0
software. The data were analyzed by one-way
ANOVA, the independent sample t-test, or, in the case of several independent samples, by the Kruskal-Wallis test. Categorical data were analyzed by Pearson's χ2 test or Fisher's exact test.
Results:
The observed indices included
C-reactive protein (CRP),
platelet (PLT),
white blood cells (WBC),
hemoglobin (Hb),
albumin, and PRE-
albumin. The
secondary outcomes included length of
hospital stay (LOS),
cost,
incidence of pulmonary
infection, and total
incidence of
infection.
Conclusion:
The combined mode of
nutrition is feasible and is not associated with
postoperative complications in
gastric cancer patients under ERAS.
