title: Preoperative immunonutrition suppresses perioperative inflammatory response in patients with major abdominal surgery-a randomized controlled pilot study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Perioperative administration of immunoenriched diets attenuates the perioperative inflammatory response and reduces postoperative infection complications. However, many questions still remain unresolved in this area, such as the length of diet administration, diet composition, and the mechanisms involved. We performed an open, randomized, triple-arm study comparing the effect of two perioperative feeding regimens with a postoperative one.
  
  
  METHODS
  46 candidates for major elective surgery for malignancy in the upper gastrointestinal tract were randomized to drink preoperatively either 1 L of an immunoenriched formula (Impact) for 5 days (IEF group) or 1 L of Impact plus (Impact enriched with glycine) for 2 days (IEF plus group). The same product as the patient received preoperatively was given to both groups for 7 days postoperatively. In the control group (CON group), patients only received Impact for 7 days postoperatively; there was no preoperative treatment. The main outcome measures were postoperative C-reactive protein (CRP) serum levels.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the two preoperatively supplemented groups (treatment groups), perioperative endotoxin levels, CRP (postoperative day 7), and TNF-alpha (postoperative days 1 and 3) levels were significantly lower compared to the CON group (p < .01). Furthermore, the length of postoperative IMU/ICU stay (Impact 1.9 +/- 1.3 days; Impact plus 2.2 +/- 1.1 days; control group 5.9 +/- 0.8 days) and length of hospital stay (Impact 19.7 +/- 2.3 days; Impact plus 20.1 +/- 1.3 days; control group 29.1 +/- 3.6 days) were both reduced in the treatment groups compared to the control group. Infectious complications (Impact 2/14 (14%); Impact plus 5/17 (29%); control group 10/15 (67%)) also showed a trend toward reduction in the treatment groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Perioperative administration of an immunoenriched diet significantly reduces systemic perioperative inflammation and postoperative complications in patients undergoing major abdominal cancer surgery, when compared with postoperative diet administration alone. A shortened preoperative feeding regimen of 2 days with Impact enriched with glycine (Impact plus) was as effective as Impact administered for 5 days preoperatively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Hôpital Cantonal Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland. ungiger@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Urs
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Giger
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Büchler
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Farhadi
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.forename: Jürg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hüsler
authors.forename: Heinz
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krähenbühl
authors.forename: Lukas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Krähenbühl
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000601:surgery*; D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D004750:Enteral Nutrition; D005260:Female; D005526:Food, Formulated; D005527:Food, Fortified; D005998:Glycine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000097:blood / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D018746:Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D005998:Glycine