Translational Research in Enteral and Parenteral Nutrition Support for Patients with Severe Head Injury

Objective: To explore the key points of the translational research in enteral and pareenteral nutrition support for patients with severe head injury (SHI), and to analyze the influence of different nutritional support routes on the prognosis of SHI patients. Methods: Totally 141 patients with severe craniocerebral injury were selected as study subjects, 47 cases for each group, and were given early enteral nutrition (EEN), delayed enteral nutrition (DEN), and parenteral nutrition (PN), respectively. The effect of different nutritional support routes on SHI patients was observed. Results: After 14 d of treatment, Glasgow comascale (GCS) scores of 3 groups were higher than treatment before (P< 0.01), and with statistical differences among groups (P< 0.05 or P< 0.01). The levels of serum albumin, total serum protein and hemoglobin were higher in EEN group than the other groups (P< 0.01). The level of serum albumin was lower in PN group than in DEN group (P< 0.05). There was statistical differences in the incidence of complications among three groups (chi(2)= 9.2487, P= 0.0098). Conclusion: EEN support is more conductive to the improvement of the nutrition status, reduction of the incidence of complications, and promotion of the prognosis of SHI patients than DEN and PN.