Clinical application of early postoperative enteral nutrition after gastrectomy

Objective To investigate the feasibility,safety and value of early post-operative early enteral nutrition(EN)for gastrectomy.Methods 156 post-operative patients with gastropathy from January 2003 to January 2010 were randomly divided into enteral nutrition(EN) group(n=80) and parenteral nutrition(PN) group(n=76).Nutrition indexes,recovery of gastrointestinal movement,length of hospital stay,and healthcare costs were analysed.Results Plasma prealbumin and plasma albumin in EN group were significantly higher than those in PN group(P0.05) 7 days after surgery.Median days of the recovery of gastrointestinal movement in EN group were significantly less than those in PN group(P0.01).The costs in EN group were significantly lower than those in PN group(P0.01).Conclusion Early enteral nutrition after gastrectomy is safe,simple,and physiologically feasible,with relatively low costs and fast recovery of gastrointestinal functions.