• Alfred Adiamah, Pavel Skořepa, Arved Weimann, and Dileep N Lobo.
• Gastrointestinal Surgery, Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre and National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and University of Nottingham, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, UK.
• Ann. Surg. 2019 Aug 1; 270 (2): 247256247-256.

ObjectiveTo define the influence of preoperative immune modulating nutrition (IMN) on postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing surgery for gastrointestinal cancer.BackgroundAlthough studies have shown that perioperative IMN may reduce postoperative infectious complications, many of these have included patients with benign and malignant disease, and the optimal timing of such an intervention is not clear.MethodsThe Embase, Medline, and Cochrane databases were searched from 2000 to 2018, for prospective randomized controlled trials evaluating preoperative oral or enteral IMN in patients undergoing surgery for gastrointestinal cancer. The primary endpoint was the development of postoperative infectious complications. Secondary endpoints included postoperative noninfectious complications, length of stay, and up to 30-day mortality. The analysis was performed using RevMan v5.3 software.ResultsSixteen studies reporting on 1387 patients (715 IMN group, 672 control group) were included. Six of the included studies reported on a mixed population of patients undergoing all gastrointestinal cancer surgery. Of the remaining, 4 investigated IMN in colorectal cancer surgery, 2 in pancreatic surgery, and another 2 in patients undergoing surgery for gastric cancer. There was 1 study each on liver and esophageal cancer. The formulation of nutrition used in all studies in the treated patients was Impact (Novartis/Nestlé), which contains ω-3 fatty acids, arginine, and nucleotides. Preoperative IMN in patients undergoing surgery for gastrointestinal cancer reduced infectious complications [odds ratio (OR) 0.52, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.38-0.71, P < 0.0001, I = 16%, n = 1387] and length of hospital stay (weighted mean difference -1.57 days, 95% CI -2.48 to -0.66, P = 0.0007, I = 34%, n = 995) when compared with control (isocaloric isonitrogeneous feed or normal diet). It, however, did not affect noninfectious complications (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.73-1.33, P = 0.91, I = 0%, n = 1303) or mortality (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.18-1.68, P = 0.29, I = 0%, n = 955).ConclusionGiven the significant impact on infectious complications and a tendency to shorten length of stay, preoperative IMN should be encouraged in routine practice in patients undergoing surgery for gastrointestinal cancer.

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