Effects of early oral feeding on relapse and symptoms of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in peptic ulcer disease.

BACKGROUND Peptic ulcer is the most common cause of upper gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) and nutritional support is a helpful strategy in malnutrition prevention during treatment. As early oral feeding in patients with GIB may shorten hospital stay and decrease costs and risk of infection, the present study was carried out to investigate the effects of early oral feeding on relapse and symptoms of upper GIB. METHODS The present clinical trial was conducted with the participation of 100 patients with upper GIB due to gastric or duodenum ulcer at Emam Reza University Hospital in Tabriz. Subjects were randomly allocated to two groups (n=50). In one group, patients received oral diet from day 1 and in other group patients were nil by mouth until day 3 and then received oral diet. Endoscopic and clinical findings of patients were recorded from day 1 to 3. RESULTS The mean age of subjects was 57.6±1.7 and 63% were male. Sclerotherapy was used in most cases as a hemostasis treatment. There was no significant difference in laboratory findings and rebleeding between the two groups. In the group with early oral feeding, the time of hospital stay was significantly shorter than in the control group (P<0.001). CONCLUSION Although early oral feeding had no significant effects on electrolyte balance and treatment outcomes in patients with upper GIB who were treated with endoscopic hemostasis, it could effectively shorten the hospital stay. Consequently, early oral feeding in these patients enables early discharge and reduces the costs of treatment.