Effect of family enteral nutrition on nutritional status in elderly patients with esophageal carcinoma after minimally invasive radical surgery: a randomized trial

Background Postoperative patients with esophageal carcinoma (EC) are prone to malnutrition. Studies have shown that the incidence of malnutrition after EC surgery reaches 60-80%, and deaths due to malnutrition account for about 22%. Patients with EC need at least 3 months to establish a new dietary pattern after surgery, so short-term enteral nutrition is of great significance. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of family enteral nutrition (FEN) on nutritional status in elderly patients with EC after minimally invasive radical surgery (MIS). Methods A total of 106 elderly patients with EC, who had undergone MIS at the 904th Hospital of the Joint Service Support Center of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and Taixing People's Hospital from January 2017 to July 2019 were selected to participate in the present study and randomly divided into the observation group and control group. There were 53 cases in each group. Patients in the control group were given regular meals after they were discharged from hospital, and the observation group was given FEN support based on the intervention of the control group. Body mass index (BMI), nutritional risk screening, nutritional status, and the incidence of complications were compared between the two groups at discharge and 1 month after discharge. Results The BMI of the observation group was higher than that of the control group 1 month after discharge (P 0.05). Conclusions FEN could improve the nutritional status of elderly patients with EC after MIS and reduce the risk of postoperative malnutrition and incidence of complications. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2100046121.