This study was conducted to assess the clinical advantages of early
enteral nutrition (EEN) in pediatric patients who underwent surgery with gastrointestinal (GI) anastomosis.EEN has been associated with clinical benefits in various aspect of surgical intervention, including GI function recovery and postoperative complications reduction. Evaluable data documenting clinical advantages with EEN for pediatric patients after surgery with GI anastomosis are limited.We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 575 pediatric patients undergoing surgical intervention with GI anastomosis. Among them, 278 cases were managed with EEN and the remaining cases were set as late
enteral nutrition (LEN) group. Propensity score (PS) matching was conducted to adjust biases in patient selection.
Enteral feeding related complications were evaluated with symptoms, including serum
electrolyte abnormalities, abdominal distention,
abdominal cramps, and
diarrhea. Clinical outcomes, including GI function recovery, postoperative complications, length of
hospital stay, and postoperative follow-up, were assessed according to EEN or LEN.Following PS matching, the baseline variables of the 2 groups were more comparable. There were no differences in the incidence of
enteral feeding-related complications. EEN was associated with postoperative GI function recovery, including time to first defecation (3.1 ± 1.4 days for EEN vs 3.8 ± 1.0 days for LEN, risk ratio [RR], 0.62; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.43-1.08, P = .042). A lower total episodes of complication, including infectious complications and major complications were noted in patients with EEN than in patients with LEN (117 [45.9%] vs 137 [53.7%]; OR, 0.73, 95% CI 0.52-1.03, P = .046). Mean postoperative
length of stay in the EEN group was 7.4 ± 1.8 days versus 9.2 ± 1.4 days in the LEN group (P = .007). Furthermore, the incidence of adhesive small bowel obstruction was lower for patients with
laxative administration compared with control, but no significant difference was attained (P = .092)EEN was safe and associated with clinical benefits, including shorten
hospital stay, and reduced overall postoperative complications on pediatric patients undergoing GI anastomosis.