Perioperative Enteral Nutrition Improves Postoperative Recovery for Patients with Primary Liver Cancer: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.

OBJECTIVE The role of perioperative protein-enriched enteral nutrition for patients with primary liver cancer is unclear. We investigated the efficacy of perioperative protein-enriched enteral nutrition for patients with primary liver cancer followed hepatectomy. METHODS Patients with primary liver cancer that underwent hepatectomy between January 2016 and 2018 were enrolled. Patients in the treatment group was given enteral nutrition (TP-MCT) in addition to the regular diet. The primary outcome measures were duration of hospital stay and length of postoperative hospital stay. Secondary outcome measures included time to first flatus and time to first defecation. RESULTS There was a significant reduction of time to first flatus and time to first defecation in the treatment group, when compared with the control group (time to first flatus: P = 0.001, time to first defecation: P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS It is found that addition of protein-enriched enteral nutrition (TP-MCT) improved postoperative recovery for patients with primary liver cancer following hepatectomy, with a significant reduction in time to first flatus and time to first defecation.