Early enteral nutrition in the treatment of severe acute pancreatitis

Background: The effect of traditional total parenteral nutrition (TPN) in the treatment of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) is not ideal and early enteral nutrition (FN) has received much more attention than in the past. Aims: To investigate the effect of early EN in the treatment of SAP. Methods: Thirty-five patients with SAP were randomly divided into TPN group (18 patients) and parenteral nutrition (PN)+EN group (17 patients). Biochemical parameters, APACHE II score before and after the two-week therapy as well as the clinical parameters between the two groups were compared. Results: After 2 weeks therapy, the level of C-reactive protein and APACHE II score in PN+EN group decreased obviously and were lower than those in TPN group (P<0.05), the serum albumin level increased markedly and was higher than that in TPN group (P<0.05). The incidences of infection, complication, surgical intervention, and the mean length and cost of hospital stay in PN+EN group were significantly lower than those in TPN group (P<0.05). No significant difference was found in the mortality rate between the two groups. Conclusions: Early EN plays an important role in the treatment of SAP. EN should be used as early as possible in patients with SAP.