Effect of early enteral nutrition on gastrointestinal function and immune function in patients after esophagectomy

Objective To evaluate effects of early enteral nutrition (EN) on gastrointestinal function and immune function in patients after esophagectomy. Methods Eighty-seven patients who underwent early enteral nutrition after esophagectomy in our hospital from January 2014 to December 2015 were enrolled in this study. The nutritional status, gastrointestinal function and immune function were observed and compared with those of 87 matched cases who underwent paraenteral nutrition (PN) and hospitalized in the same period. Results Postoperative time to first flatus and time to first defecation of patients in EN group were significantly shorter than those of PN group(68.5±19.7) h vs (76.8±22.5) h, P< 0.05; (4.27±1.5) d vs (4.98±2.2) d, P< 0.05. The level of nutrition indicators in EN group was higher than that in PN group at day 7 after operation(36.4±5.2) g/L vs (33.8±5.8) g/L, P< 0.05.Recovery of cellar immune function in EN group was better than PN group. Conclusion Postoperative EN can promote the recovery of gastrointestinal function, improve nutritional status and enhance immune function, which is a preferred method of nutritional support treatment after esophagectomy.