Enteral vs parenteral nutrition after major abdominal surgery: an even match

HYPOTHESIS: Immediate enteral feeding following major abdominal surgery reduces postoperative complications and mortality when compared with parenteral nutrition. DESIGN: A prospective multicenter randomized trial. SETTING: A university hospital department of digestive surgery. PATIENTS AND INTERVENTIONS: Two hundred forty-one malnourished patients undergoing major elective abdominal surgery were randomly assigned to receive, after surgery, either enteral (enteral nutrition group: 119 patients) or parenteral nutrition (total parenteral nutrition group: 122 patients). The patients were monitored for postoperative complications and mortality. RESULTS: The rate of major postoperative complications was similar in the enteral and parenteral groups (enteral nutrition group: 37.8%; total parenteral nutrition group: 39.3%; P was not significant), as were the overall postoperative mortality rates (5.9% and 2.5%, respectively; P was not significant). CONCLUSION: The present study failed to demonstrate that enteral feeding following major abdominal surgery reduces postoperative complications and mortality when compared with parenteral nutrition.