Effectiveness of an early, quantified, modified oral feeding protocol on nutritional status and quality of life of patients after minimally invasive esophagectomy: A Retrospective Controlled Study

Abstract Background Previous studies confirmed the safety and feasibility of oral feeding on the first postoperative day (POD) of patients with minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE). Nonetheless, some clinical concern lead to delays in early oral feeding on the first postoperative day. Few reports, however, focused on the solution of the clinical concerns. The purposes of this prospective study were to evaluate the impact of an early, quantified, modified oral feeding protocol of patients after MIE and explore its effect on nutritional status and quality of life (QOL). Methods In this prospective controlled trail, 200 patients were selected as the intervention group (IG) from March 2020 to June 2021, 115 patients hospitalized from June 2019 to February 2020 assigned to the control group (CG). The participants in IG received for 2 weeks in the postoperative period an early, quantified, modified oral feeding protocol. The recovery of dietary outcomes, nutrition status and QOL were evaluated after the intervention. Results There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of demographic and clinical characteristics and baseline physical function. After the intervention, patients in IG showed a more rapidly growth in the daily total oral caloric intake and the ratio of oral calories intake to total calories required by the body (K /R value) from POD 1 to POD 14, and less weight loss(1.5±1.0 vs 2.1 ± 1.7 kg, P Conclusions The findings demonstrated that the early, quantified, modified oral feeding protocol can alleviate the postoperative body weight loss, improve patients' nutritional status, and have a positive impact on QOL and early recovery for patients undergoing MIE.