Normal food at will and nil-by-mouth enteral feeding after major upper GI surgery did not differ for mortality or morbidity.

K Lassen Dr K Lassen, University Hospital Northern Norway, Tromso, Norway; lassen@unn.no Does allowing normal food at will increase morbidity compared with “nil-by-mouth” enteral tube feeding (ETF) after major upper gastrointestinal (GI) surgery? ### Design: randomised controlled trial (RCT). ### Allocation: concealed. ### Blinding: {unblinded}.* ### Follow-up period: 8 weeks. ### Setting: 5 referral centres in Norway. ### Patients: 453 patients (mean age 64 y, 59% men, based on 447 patients) who had major upper GI surgery. Exclusion criteria included severe extra-abdominal disease or trauma, life expectancy <3 months, or indications for parenteral nutrition. ### Interventions: normal food at will (n = 220) or ETF by needle-catheter jejunostomy (n = 227) after surgery. ETF consisted of nutrition, 20 ml/h on day 1, increasing by 20 ml/h/d (if tolerated) up …