Effect of Postoperative Early Enteral Nutrition on Nutritional Status and Immune Function of the Patients with Gastrointestinal Carcinoma

Objective: To study the effect of postoperative early enteral nutrition support with dietary fibers on the immune function and nutritional status of the patients with gastrointestinal cancer. Methods: 148 patients were randomly divided into enteral (EN, n=60), parenteral (PN, n=60) and control (n=28) groups. The EN group was treated with EN including dietary fibers, and the PN group received normal TPN, and the control group received transfusion. The clinical manifestation and immune parameters were evaluated before and after the treatment. The complications and recovery of gastrointestinal functions were carefully observed and recorded simultaneously. Results: The restoring time of intestinal movement was significantly shortened in EN group as compared with PN or control groups (P0.01). There was no evidence of damage of EN to the renal and liver function. The levels of BW, PA, Alb, IgG, IgM and IgA in EN or PN groups were significantly higher than in control group ((P)(0.05)), but there was no statistical difference between EN and PN groups. The percentage of CD3~+, CD4~+, (CD4~+/CD8~+ )in EN or PN group was significantly higher than that in control group (P0.01). Moreover, the levels of CD4~+ and CD4~+/CD8~+ in EN group was higher than that in PN group (P0.05). Conclusion: Early EN with dietary fibers can improve nutritional and immune statuses of postoperative patients with gastrointestinal carcinoma and is better than PN in cellular immunity and recovery of intestinal movement.