Early Post Operative Enteral Versus Parenteral Feeding after Esophageal Cancer Surgery

The incidence of malnutrition in hospitalized patients is reported to be high. In particular, patients with esophageal cancer are prone to malnutrition, due to preoperative digestive system dysfunctions and short-term non-oral feeding postoperatively. Selection of an appropriate method for feeding in the postoperative period is important in these patients. In this randomized clinical trial, 40 patients with esophageal cancer who had undergone esophagectomy between September 2008 and October 2009 were randomly assigned into either enteral feeding or parenteral feeding groups, with the same calorie intake in each group. The level of serum total protein, albumin, prealbumin, transferrin, C3, C4 and hs-C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), as well as the rate of surgical complications, restoration of bowel movements and cost was assessed in each group. Our results showed that there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of serum albumin, prealbumin or transferrin. However, C3 and C4 levels were significantly higher in the enteral feeding group compared with the parenteral group, while hs-CRP level was significantly lower in the enteral feeding group. Bowel movements were restored sooner and costs of treatment were lower in the enteral group. Postoperative complications did not differ significantly between the groups. There was one death in the parenteral group 10 days after surgery due to myocardial infarction. The results of our study showed that enteral feeding can be used effectively in the first days after surgery, with few early complications and similar nutritional outcomes compared with the parenteral method. Enteral feeding was associated with reduced inflammation and was associated with an improvement in immunological responses, quicker return of bowel movements, and reduced costs in comparison with parenteral feeding.