Perioperative Nutritional Support Research Articles

Perioperative nutrition support: who and how.

Perioperative nutrition support can reduce postoperative complications in some malnourished patients, but there are risks, such as a greater risk of infection. The decision to use nutrition support--either total parenteral nutrition or enteral feedings--before and after surgery depends on how severely the patient is malnourished, the type of surgical procedure, and whether the surgery is elective.

Cytokine serum concentration following surgery for esophageal carcinoma in patients with perioperative nutritional support

Cytokine serum concentration following surgery for esophageal carcinoma in patients with perioperative nutritional support

Nutrition in the perioperative patient.

The association of malnutrition with surgical morbidity and mortality is well recognized. The question of whether this relationship is causal or simply an association in sick patients has been hotly debated. The field of nutrition support has grown out of the belief that correcting malnutrition will modify associated risks for poor outcome. It has been easier to substantiate this belief in some clinical situations than in others. The evidence for nutrition support during the perioperative period is reviewed and recommendations are made about where nutrition support is most useful and where it may be counterproductive. Some of the important unanswered questions about perioperative nutrition support are raised.

Benefits and limitations of enteral nutrition in the early postoperative period.

Preexisting malnutrition has been shown to be a major clinical problem in surgical patients. Surgical stress itself increases the energy expenditure and protein loss making necessary the early nutritional support. Although there is strong evidence that "nil by mouth" is not justified, the data are still conflicting over the role of early enteral nutrition compared with the traditional methods of postoperative feeding including total parenteral nutrition support. This paper deals with the various trials related to early enteral feeding. It also compares this with the possible advantages of total parenteral nutrition as a method of perioperative nutritional support in patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery.

Malnutrition is a risk factor in cirrhotic patients undergoing surgery

Cirrhotic patients may become candidates for elective and emergency surgery. This may be due to conditions requiring operations such as cholecystectomy, herniotomy, or gastrointestinal malignancies, more common in cirrhotics when compared with the general population, or to complications of the liver disease such as resectable hepatocellular carcinomas or surgical portosystemic shunts to treat portal hypertension. It has been estimated that 10% of cirrhotics undergo at least one operative procedure during the final 2 y of their lives. Many studies have documented a high risk of morbidity and mortality associated with surgical procedures in these patients, and several factors influencing the postoperative outcome have been identified. Malnutrition, which is frequently encountered in cirrhotic patients, has been shown to have an important impact on the surgical risk. A poor nutrition status also has been associated with a higher risk of complications and mortality in patients undergoing liver transplantation. Few data are available concerning the perioperative nutrition support in surgical cirrhotic patients. The results of these studies are sometimes encouraging in reporting that the nutrition therapy may improve the clinical outcome in cirrhotic patients undergoing general surgery and/or liver transplantation. The limited number of patients and their heterogeneity, however, do not allow definitive conclusions, and more research on this issue is needed.

Perioperative Nutritional Support as an Adjunct to Surgical Therapy for Cancer

Perioperative Nutritional Support as an Adjunct to Surgical Therapy for Cancer

Adjuvant Perioperative Nutrition Support in Cancer Patients

The effectiveness of perioperative nutrition support in cancer patients has been controversial. Much interest was generated in the role of nutrition as adjuvant therapy to surgery in cancer patients when Muller et al 1 reported significant reduction of major complications and mortality when preoperative parenteral nutrition (PN) was given to patients with gastrointestinal malignancy before undergoing surgery. However, as summarized in an article by Van Way 2 in this issue of Nutrition in Clinical Practice, the efficacy of perioperative nutrition support in patients with cancer is far from being clear. Additional questions arise when a flurry of new studies regarding the safe use of enteral feeding and the potential benefit of immunonutrition appeared recently. Several meta-analyses were performed for nutrition support given during the perioperative period. Lewis et al 3 analyzed 11 randomized, controlled trials comparing nothing by mouth after gastrointestinal surgery with enteral feeding (EN) starting within 24 hours after surgery. The analysis showed that infection complications and length of stay were reduced with early feeding. Another meta-analysis reviewed randomized trials comparing PN to standard care with oral diet plus IV dextrose. 4 It should be noted that, as is a common pitfall for metaanalysis, there was much heterogeneity among the studies included in the analysis. How do we extrapolate these results into patients with cancer? With difficulty. There is some evidence suggesting that patients with cancer and malnutrition respond to nutrition support differently than malnourished patients with benign diseases. 5 This is not surprising because the metabolic alterations in cancer cachexia differ significantly from that in simply starvation.

Perioperative nutrition support

Perioperative nutrition support

Outcome of Necrosectomy in Acute Pancreatitis: the Case for Continued Vigilance

Background: Surgery for pancreatic necrosis complicating acute severe pancreatitis carries a high risk of mortality and may be influenced by a range of variables including patterns of referral, case selection and quality of care. Methods: An observational study of a consecutive series of 54 patients undergoing pancreatic necrosectomy in a specialist Hepatobiliary unit over an 8-year study period. Principal outcomes were organ dysfunction and physiological derangement in relation to surgery, microbial colonization of necrosis and relation to outcome, re-operation rates, requirement for peri-operative nutritional support, trends in mortality and survival analysis. Results: Necrosectomy was associated with statistically significant deterioration in immediate postoperative organ dysfunction scores (ANOVA P < 0.01). Infected necrosis was present in 36 (68%). Fungal colonization of necrosis was present in 5 (9%). Mortality in this subgroup was 80% (4 deaths). There was no association between bacterial colonization of necrosis and death in this study ( P = 0.77; Fisher exact test; relative risk 0.9, 95% confidence interval 0.54-1.54). Twenty patients (37%) required further surgical intervention with an average of 1.5 surgical procedures per patient. Twenty-three patients (43%) died. Patient survival to discharge was best predicted by admission APACHE-II score with relative risk of death increasing 14% for each unit increase in APACHE-II score at admission. Conclusions: The results of the present study illustrate that there is no place for complacency in the surgical management of patients with severe acute pancreatitis. A clinical governance approach would promote pre-defined protocols between admitting hospitals and tertiary referral centres. Future research should target new interventions in patients with high admission APACHE-II scores in whom prognosis is particularly poor and explore the role of infection of necrotic tissue.

Perioperative Nutritional Support

Perioperative Nutritional Support

Perioperative Nutritional Support: An Old Controversy in Nutritional Care

Perioperative Nutritional Support: An Old Controversy in Nutritional Care

Nutritional strategy in the management of heart failure in adults.

The incidence of congestive heart failure (CHF) is increasing in Westernized countries, and patients with CHF experience poor quality of life (functional impairment, high hospitalization rate and high mortality). Malnutrition occurring during the course of CHF is referred to as cardiac cachexia and is associated with higher mortality independent of the severity of CHF. Cardiac cachexia involving a loss of more than 10% of lean body mass can clinically be defined as a bodyweight loss of 7.5% of previous dry bodyweight in a period longer than 6 months. The energy requirements of patients with CHF, whether cachectic or not, are not noticeably modified since the increase in resting energy expenditure is compensated by a decrease in physical activity energy expenditure. Malnutrition in CHF has been ascribed to neurohormonal alterations, i.e. anabolic/catabolic imbalance and increased cytokine release. Anorexia may occur, particularly during acute decompensation of CHF. Function is impaired in CHF, because of exertional dyspnea and changes in skeletal muscle. Decreased exercise endurance seems to be related to decreased mitochondrial oxidative capacities and atrophy of type 1 fibers, which are attributed to alteration in muscle perfusion and are partially reversible by training. Malnutrition could also impair muscle function, because of decreased muscle mass and strength associated with decreased glycolytic capacities and atrophy of type 2a and 2b fibres. With respect to the putative mechanisms of cardiac cachexia, anabolic therapy (hormones or nutrients) and anticytokine therapy have been proposed, but trials are scarce and often inconclusive. In surgical patients with CHF, perioperative (pre- and postoperative) nutritional support has been shown to be effective in reducing the mortality rate. Long term nutritional supplementation trials in patients with CHF and cachexia are thus required to establish recommendations for the nutritional management of patients with CHF.

Perioperative enteral nutrition and quality of life of severely malnourished head and neck cancer patients: a randomized clinical trial

Background and aims: This study evaluated the use of perioperative nutritional support on Quality of Life (QOL) in malnourished head and neck cancer patients undergoing surgery.Methods: 49 Malnourished (weight loss >10%) head and neck cancer patients who were included in a nutrition intervention trial were randomized to receive either no preoperative and standard postoperative tube-feeding (group I), standard preoperative and postoperative tube-feeding (group II) or arginine-supplemented preoperative and postoperative tube-feeding (group III). Of these patients, 31 completed a full QOL assessment on the first day of preoperative nutritional support, one day before surgery, and 6 months after surgery. Both a disease-specific (EORTC QLQ-C30) and a generic questionnaire (COOP–WONCA) were used. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Kruskal-Wallis test were applied for testing differences in scores between groups.Results: Between baseline and the day before surgery, both preoperatively fed groups revealed a positive change for the dimensions physical and emotional functioning and dyspnea (with significance in group II, P=0.050,0.031,0.045 respectively). Group III showed a negative change in appetite (P=0.049). Between baseline and 6 months after surgery, there were no differences between group I and both pre-fed groups. There were no differences in favour of group III compared to group II.Conclusion: Enteral nutrition improves QOL of severely malnourished head and neck cancer patients in the period preceding surgery. No benefit of preoperative enteral feeding on QOL could be demonstrated 6 months after surgery.

Advances in perioperative nutrition: cancer.

The role of perioperative nutritional support in the management of cancer patients remains controversial. The benefit of supplemental calories is not the only current issue: in fact, the route of delivery, composition of basic nutrients (carbohydrate, protein, fat), and the role of supplemental additives (arginine, glutamine, omega-3 fatty acids, nucleotides) in improving immune status and ultimate outcome have been the focus of much discussion. Emerging data suggest that the use of supplemental agents is associated with improvement in immune status in these patients, although there is little clear evidence that this improves outcome. Ongoing studies are aimed at defining the group of patients who would most benefit from nutritional interventions during the perioperative period.

Perioperative nutritional support: does it reduce hospital complications or shorten convalescence?

See article on page 813 During the 1960–1970s we learnt how artificial feeding could rescue a few severely undernourished patients. Next, research characterised the integrative biochemistry of illness and sought...

Nutritional and metabolic aspects of pancreatic cancer.

Most patients with pancreatic cancer suffer from a variety of severe metabolic and nutritional disturbances. Despite this fact, the role of perioperative nutritional support for these patients remains controversial. This review highlights the results of randomized prospective clinical trials, and meta-analyses that have addressed this issue. The 'current opinion' put forth in this discussion is based on these reviews, and on personal observations in treating more than 500 patients.

Perioperative nutrition support for patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery: critical analysis and recommendations.

There is a high incidence of malnutrition in hospitalized patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery. Malnutrition is clearly associated with increased morbidity and mortality after major gastrointestinal surgery. The efficacy of perioperative nutrition support to reduce surgical complications and mortality significantly has been an area of active clinical investigation over the past three decades. From multiple prospective, randomized trials, significant benefit from perioperative nutritional support has been demonstrated in severely malnourished patients undergoing major surgery. Results of the prospective, randomized trials studying the effects of perioperative nutrition support on patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery are reviewed and critically analyzed.

Perioperative nutritional support in pediatrics.

Perioperative nutritional support in pediatrics.

Clinical efficacy of perioperative nutrition support.

Despite a large number of published randomized prospective controlled clinical trials the indications for perioperative parenteral and enteral nutrition support remain controversial. This article reviews the reports of several recently published consensus conference reports and prospective randomized controlled trials evaluating nutritional therapy in surgical patients.

Nutrition support in clinical practice: review of published data and recommendations for future research directions. Summary of a conference sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, and American Society for Clinical Nutrition

In the last 30 years, marked advances in enteral feeding techniques, venous access, and enteral and parenteral nutrient formulations have made it possible to provide nutrition support to almost all patients. Despite the abundant medical literature and widespread use of nutritional therapy, many areas of nutrition support remain controversial. Therefore, the leadership at the National Institutes of Health, The American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, and The American Society for Clinical Nutrition convened an advisory committee to perform a critical review of the current medical literature evaluating the clinical use of nutrition support; the goal was to assess our current body of knowledge and to identify the issues that deserve further investigation. The panel was divided into five groups to evaluate the following areas: nutrition assessment, nutrition support in patients with gastrointestinal diseases, nutrition support in wasting diseases, nutrition support in critically ill patients, and perioperative nutrition support. The findings from each group are summarized in this report. This document is not meant to establish practice guidelines for nutrition support. The use of nutritional therapy requires a careful integration of data from pertinent clinical trials, clinical expertise in the illness or injury being treated, clinical expertise in nutritional therapy, and input from the patient and his/her family. (Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition 21:133-156, 1997).