Objective: Patients undergoing esophagectomy are typically nutritionally depleted and cannot establish oral feeding for up to a week after surgery. We have investigated the routine use of enteral feeding via a naso-jejunal tube. Methods: Forty consecutive patients undergoing a transthoracic esophagectomy for cancer were randomised to receive enteral feeding or intravenous crystalloid fluids aft...

PURPOSE Enteral nutrition (EN) is effective, easy to provide, cheaper, and associated with fewer complications in comparison with parenteral nutrition in severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). However, the nasogastric (NG) route for enteral supplements still remains to be established, and most studies have used the nasojejunal (NJ) route. The purpose of this study was to compare early NJ with NG feed...

BACKGROUND Complex medical treatment is moving from hospital to primary care and General Practitioners (GPs) are increasingly asked to undertake new roles. There are now an estimated 19,500 patients being fed in the UK in the community on enteral tube feeding using a variety of different feeding tubes (Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG), Jejunostomy, or nasogastric (NG). The majority of ...

BACKGROUND Enteral feeding of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants is a challenge, since metabolic demands are high and administration of enteral nutrition is limited by immaturity of the gastrointestinal tract. The amino acid glutamine plays an important role in maintaining functional integrity of the gut. In addition, glutamine is utilised at a high rate by cells of the immune system. In crit...

Patients who are unable to ingest adequate nutrients by oral intake present a common challenge for family physicians. Feeding difficulties can be caused by many factors, including anatomic, neurologic, and gastrointestinal dysfunction. Long-term nutritional support options include parenteral feeding and percutaneous enteral access. Nasogastric tubes are inappropriate for long-term outpatient us...

Nutrition has an important role in the management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), especially in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). This role includes the prevention and correction of malnutrition, the prevention of osteoporosis and the promotion of optimal growth and development in children. In active Crohn's disease, nutritional therapy (in the form of enteral feeding) is an effective pr...

OBJECTIVE The use of probiotics is increasingly popular in preterm neonates, as they may prevent necrotizing enterocolitis sepsis and improve growth and feeding tolerance. There is only limited literature on Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-745 (S. boulardii) in preterm infants. METHOD A prospective, randomized, case-controlled trial with the probiotic S. boulardii (50mg/kg twice daily) was con...

Nutrition support plays an important role in the management of nutritional deficiencies in properly selected critically ill patients. A full nutritional assessment allows the calculation of appropriate feeding goals. The route of feeding, enteral or parenteral, is determined by the presence or absence of a functioning intestine and hemodynamic status of the patient. The specific roles of carboh...

Nutritional therapy in the critically ill patient in the intensive care unit (ICU) is an important part of the total care of the patient. Nutrition can be given through parenteral nutrition or enteral nutrition therapy. Parenteral nutrition has been limited recently, but not exclusively, to patients who, for a variety of reasons, cannot be fed enterally. Although the debate concerning parentera...

Background:  A great number of premature neonates do not tolerate sufficient milk during the early neonatal period. Objective: To evaluate the effect of oral erythromycin on enhancement of feeding tolerance in preterm newborns. Methods: Sixty preterm neonates intolerant to milk of >75 ml/kg/day during 5 days after the start of feedings, were randomized into a treatment and a control groups.  Or...