Early Enteral Nutrition After Emergency Gastrointestinal Surgery: Impact on Postoperative Recovery
Keywords:
early enteral nutrition, emergency gastrointestinal surgery, postoperative recovery, enhanced recovery, postoperative ileus, emergency laparotomyAbstract
Background. Traditional postoperative management after emergency gastrointestinal surgery frequently delays oral or enteral intake until the return of bowel sounds or passage of flatus. Contemporary perioperative concepts increasingly support earlier nutritional support in appropriately selected patients. Objective. To evaluate the influence of early enteral nutrition on postoperative recovery after emergency gastrointestinal surgery. Materials and methods. A comparative observational model included 164 adult patients who underwent emergency gastrointestinal operations. The numerical dataset was constructed for manuscript development and must be replaced or verified using primary clinical records before scientific submission. Eighty-six patients received oral or enteral nutrition within 24 hours after surgery, while 78 patients received conventional delayed feeding. Time to bowel recovery, postoperative nausea and vomiting, infectious complications, anastomotic complications, and hospital stay were analyzed. Results. Early nutrition was associated with earlier passage of flatus, earlier first defecation, and shorter hospitalization. Postoperative vomiting occurred somewhat more frequently during the initial feeding period, but the difference was not accompanied by higher rates of aspiration or major morbidity. Surgical-site infection was less frequent in the early-feeding group, while anastomotic leakage and intra-abdominal abscess rates were comparable. Conclusion. Early enteral nutrition is feasible after selected emergency gastrointestinal operations and may accelerate functional recovery without increasing major postoperative complications.
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