Early postoperative enteral nutrition with esophageal cancer in patients aged 70 years and older

Abstract

Objective To investigate the significance of early postoperative enteral nutrition with esophageal cancer in the elderly. Methods A total of 62 cases of esophageal cancer patients aged 70 years and older were randomly divided into the enteral nutrition（EN）group and the parenteral nutrition（PN）group. In preoperative and the first day and eighth day of postoperative serum albumin,prealbumin,peripheral blood lymphocytes,serum immunoglobulin（IgG,IgM,IgA）,complement C3 and C4 were measured,and the postoperative infectious complications and cardiovascular complications were observed. Results During the eighth day after operation,the statistic analysis of the data between EN group and PN group showed： tALB = 2. 535,tPA = 2. 880,tLymphocyte =2. 720,tIgA =2. 166,tIgM =2. 065 ,tC3 =4. 103 ,tC4 =2. 478,P 〈0. 05. The result indicated that the EN group was better than the PN group in improving the nutritional status of patients,strengthened the immune system. The complication comparison between the two groups after operation： x2 Infection = 4. 24,x2 Cardiovascular =15.55,P 〈 0. 05. The result indicated that the EN group had lower incidence of infectious complications and cardiovascular complications than the PN group. Conclusions Early enteral nutrition can significantly improve the nutritional status of elderly patients with esophageal cancer after postoperative,enhance immunity,and reduce the incidence of complications. Key words: Esophageal cancer Enteral nutrition Parenteral nutrition