ENTERAL/ORAL GLUTAMINE SUPPLEMENTATION IN PATIENTS FOLLOWING SURGERY AND ACCIDENTAL INJURY

ABSTRACTObjective: The objective of this investigation was to study the effect of enteral/oral glutamine supplementation in patients following abdominalsurgery on plasma glutamine levels, rate of infection, and length of hospitalization (LOH).Methods: A randomized control trial was used, and the patients were randomly divided into two groups, namely experimental and control with30 participants each. Glutamine supplement (0.5 g/kg) was administered (oral and enteral) to the experimental group for 5 days post-surgeryimmediately after the feeding began. The study was conducted in ESIC hospital, Chennai, India.Results: The incidence of infection in the control group was found to be almost twice that in the experimental group considering the role of glutaminein combating infection. Furthermore, the LOH was found to be slightly higher in the control group as compared to the experimental group.Conclusion: This study has provided evidence that the supplementation of enteral glutamine in post-operative patients decreases the incidence ofpost-surgical infection, shortening of hospital stay and reduction in the overall hospital costs.Keywords: Glutamine supplementation, Post-operative patients, Oral and enteral feed.