Influence of early enteral nutrition on intestinal mucosa barrier after total gastrectomy

Objective: To investigate the effect of early postoperative enteral nutrition(EN) on the function of intestinal mucosa after total gastrectomy.Methods: Twenty-nine patients undergoing total gastrectomy for gastric cancer were randomly divided into EN group and parenteral nutrition(PN) group.Both groups received the same amount of nitrogen and calorie from 24 hours to the eighth day after operation,and the serum level of peripheral immuinoglobulins and serum diamine oxidase(DAO) were measured.Results: DAO activity decreased in both groups.EN group recovered within 1 week but PN group did not recover until the 14th day.The level of IgA in EN group was significant higher than that in PN group as well as that of EN group before operation(P<0.01).Conclusions: Early EN can alleviate the immune suppression and preserve the integrity of intestinal mucosa barrier after total gastrectomy.