Abstract
To evaluate its effects, we compared drinking a low-residue diet (LRD) as early postoperative enteral nutrition in recovery from operative stress with total parenteral nutrition (TPN). Subjects were 60 colorectal cancer patients prospectively divided into 2 groups by nutritional management (group TPN: fed with TPN, n=30; group LRD: fed with LRD, n=30). In group LRD, patients started drinking LRD on postoperative day (POD) 2. The incidence of postoperative complications did not differ. Changes in nutritional parameters were comparable. To clinically assess recovery from surgery, we compared the first day of flatus and defecation (FOFD) and the postoperative length of hospital stay (LOS). The FOFD came significantly earlier in group LRD. The LOS was significantly shorter in group LRD (14.2±3.8 days vs 21.5±4.8 days, p<0.05). Plasma CRP did not differ between both groups, but plasma IL-6 on POD 7 was significantly lower in group LRD (4.8±1.91 vs 11.2±7.04 pg/ml, p<0.05). These results indicate that early postoperative enteral nutrition by drinking LRD is safe and effective as postoperative nutritional support that may hasten recovery from surgery compared to TPN in postoperative colorectal surgery management.
