Objective To explore the therapeutic effects of early enteral nutrition and parenteral nutrition in patients with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP).

Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 67 SAP patients. Based on the differences in nutritional support methods, patients were divided into an enteral nutrition group (enteral nutrition initiated within 48 hours) and a parenteral nutrition group (no enteral nutrition within 48 hours, relying solely on intravenous nutrition and other parenteral nutrition methods). Inflammatory indicators such as white blood cells, heparin-binding protein, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, as well as nutritional indicators including serum albumin, hemoglobin, and potassium levels, were collected at admission and on the seventh hospitalization day. Hospital stay duration, mortality rates, and complication occurrences were also recorded.

Results Compared with the parenteral nutrition group, patients receiving enteral nutrition had a significantly shorter hospital stay (P < 0.01), with no significant difference in mortality between the two groups (P>0.05). By day 7 of hospitalization, both inflammatory and nutritional markers showed greater improvement in the enteral nutrition group than in the parenteral nutrition group (P < 0.05 to P < 0.01). Moreover, the incidence of complications was significantly lower in the enteral nutrition group (P < 0.05).

Conclusions In patients with SAP without contraindications to enteral feeding, early enteral nutrition demonstrates greater efficacy than parenteral nutrition in improving inflammatory and nutritional parameters, and also shortening hospital stay and reducing complication rates.