Perioperative enteral supplementation with glutamine, fiber, and oligosaccharide reduces early postoperative surgical stress following esophagectomy for esophageal cancer

Preoperative nutrition therapy in people undergoing gastrointestinal surgery

BACKGROUND

Poor preoperative nutritional status has been consistently linked to an increase in postoperative complications and worse surgical outcomes. We updated a review first published in 2012.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the effects of preoperative nutritional therapy compared to usual care in people undergoing gastrointestinal surgery.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, Embase, three other databases and two trial registries on 28 March 2023. We searched reference lists of included studies.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of people undergoing gastrointestinal surgery and receiving preoperative nutritional therapy, including parenteral nutrition, enteral nutrition or oral nutrition supplements, compared to usual care. We only included nutritional therapy that contained macronutrients (protein, carbohydrate and fat) and micronutrients, and excluded studies that evaluated single nutrients. We included studies regardless of the nutritional status of participants, that is, well-nourished participants, participants at risk of malnutrition, or mixed populations. We excluded studies in people undergoing pancreatic and liver surgery. Our primary outcomes were non-infectious complications, infectious complications and length of hospital stay. Our secondary outcomes were nutritional aspects, quality of life, change in macronutrient intake, biochemical parameters, 30-day perioperative mortality and adverse effects.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

We used standard Cochrane methodology. We assessed risk of bias using the RoB 1 tool and applied the GRADE criteria to assess the certainty of evidence.

MAIN RESULTS

We included 16 RCTs reporting 19 comparisons (2164 participants). Seven studies were new for this update. Participants' ages ranged from 21 to 79 years, and 62% were men. Three RCTs used parenteral nutrition, two used enteral nutrition, eight used immune-enhancing nutrition and six used standard oral nutrition supplements. All studies included mixed groups of well-nourished and malnourished participants; they used different methods to identify malnutrition and reported this in different ways. Not all the included studies were conducted within an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) programme, which is now current clinical practice in most hospitals undertaking GI surgery. We were concerned about risk of bias in all the studies and 14 studies were at high risk of bias due to lack of blinding. We are uncertain if parenteral nutrition has any effect on the number of participants who had a non-infectious complication (risk ratio (RR) 0.61, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.36 to 1.02; 3 RCTs, 260 participants; very low-certainty evidence); infectious complication (RR 0.98, 95% CI 0.53 to 1.80; 3 RCTs, 260 participants; very low-certainty evidence) or length of hospital stay (mean difference (MD) 5.49 days, 95% CI 0.02 to 10.96; 2 RCTs, 135 participants; very low-certainty evidence). None of the enteral nutrition studies reported non-infectious complications as an outcome. The evidence is very uncertain about the effect of enteral nutrition on the number of participants with infectious complications after surgery (RR 0.90, 95% CI 0.59 to 1.38; 2 RCTs, 126 participants; very low-certainty evidence) or length of hospital stay (MD 5.10 days, 95% CI -1.03 to 11.23; 2 RCTs, 126 participants; very low-certainty evidence). Immune-enhancing nutrition compared to controls may result in little to no effect on the number of participants experiencing a non-infectious complication (RR 0.79, 95% CI 0.62 to 1.00; 8 RCTs, 1020 participants; low-certainty evidence), infectious complications (RR 0.74, 95% CI 0.53 to 1.04; 7 RCTs, 925 participants; low-certainty evidence) or length of hospital stay (MD -1.22 days, 95% CI -2.80 to 0.35; 6 RCTs, 688 participants; low-certainty evidence). Standard oral nutrition supplements may result in little to no effect on number of participants with a non-infectious complication (RR 0.90, 95% CI 0.67 to 1.20; 5 RCTs, 473 participants; low-certainty evidence) or the length of hospital stay (MD -0.65 days, 95% CI -2.33 to 1.03; 3 RCTs, 299 participants; low-certainty evidence). The evidence is very uncertain about the effect of oral nutrition supplements on the number of participants with an infectious complication (RR 0.88, 95% CI 0.60 to 1.27; 5 RCTs, 473 participants; very low-certainty evidence). Sensitivity analysis based on malnourished and weight-losing participants found oral nutrition supplements may result in a slight reduction in infections (RR 0.58, 95% CI 0.40 to 0.85; 2 RCTs, 184 participants). Studies reported some secondary outcomes, but not consistently. Complications associated with central venous catheters occurred in RCTs involving parenteral nutrition. Adverse events in the enteral nutrition, immune-enhancing nutrition and standard oral nutrition supplements RCTs included nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

We were unable to determine if parenteral nutrition, enteral nutrition, immune-enhancing nutrition or standard oral nutrition supplements have any effect on the clinical outcomes due to very low-certainty evidence. There is some evidence that standard oral nutrition supplements may have no effect on complications. Sensitivity analysis showed standard oral nutrition supplements probably reduced infections in weight-losing or malnourished participants. Further high-quality multicentre research considering the ERAS programme is required and further research in low- and middle-income countries is needed.

Metabolic Reprogramming of Thyroid Cancer Cells and Crosstalk in Their Microenvironment

Metabolism differs significantly between tumor and normal cells. Metabolic reprogramming in cancer cells and metabolic interplay in the tumor microenvironment (TME) are important for tumor formation and progression. Tumor cells show changes in both catabolism and anabolism. Altered aerobic glycolysis, known as the Warburg effect, is a well-recognized characteristic of tumor cell energy metabolism. Compared with normal cells, tumor cells consume more glucose and glutamine. The enhanced anabolism in tumor cells includes de novo lipid synthesis as well as protein and nucleic acid synthesis. Although these forms of energy supply are uneconomical, they are required for the functioning of cancer cells, including those in thyroid cancer (TC). Increasing attention has recently focused on alterations of the TME. Understanding the metabolic changes governing the intricate relationship between TC cells and the TME may provide novel ideas for the treatment of TC.

Can early postoperative parenteral nutrition have some impact on postoperative inflammatory response intensity?

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) is currently the modern perioperative method of care for improvement of post-surgery patient condition and for minimising various postoperative complications. A question of some negative impact of early postoperative parenteral nutrition on postoperative inflammatory response intensity has not clear-cut answer yet. This pilot project was focused on the possible influence of early parenteral nutrition on the intensity of inflammatory postoperative response to operating trauma in surgical patients. Elected as a model of these conditions were patients with colorectal cancer undergoing major surgery.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

45 patients (of whom 39 were analysed finally) operated for cancer of the large bowel were enrolled into the clinical, prospective, randomized, blinded, and monocentric trial - reference number 201811 S09P of the Ethics committee, University Hospital Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic. Patients were divided into two subgroups according to the type of nutrition: subgroup A - supplemented only with 10% glucose for supported mineral carrier; and subgroup B - supplemented with total parenteral nutrition. Samples of blood and urine were examined immediately after surgery, and on the first, second, and fourth days postoperatively. The inflammatory reaction was monitored by the serum or/and urine concentration of neopterin, tryptophan, and kynurenine, and their urinary ratios with creatinine. The results were analysed by multivariate analysis, and p-values ≤ 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

The final total of 39 patients comprised 20 from subgroup A and 19 from subgroup B. The intensity of the inflammatory response detected by the selected inflammatory markers (serum and urine concentrations of neopterin, kynurenine, tryptophan, their serum ratios, and their urinary ratios to creatinine) did not demonstrate statistically significant differences after early administration of the two alternative types of parenteral nutrition.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the study demonstrated the same or a very similar impact on the intensity of postoperative inflammatory response, regardless of whether the patient received intravenous administration of a small simple sugar infusion or total parenteral nutrition during early postoperative care.

Significance of Antimicrobial Prophylaxis for the Prevention of Early-Onset Pneumonia After Radical Esophageal Cancer Resection: A Retrospective Analysis of 356 Patients Undergoing Thoracoscopic Esophagectomy

BACKGROUND

Postoperative pneumonia is a common complication after esophagectomy and is associated with a high mortality rate. Although many randomized, controlled trials have been conducted on the prevention of postoperative pneumonia, little attention has been paid to the efficacy of antimicrobial prophylaxis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of antimicrobial prophylaxis on the prevention of postoperative pneumonia.

METHODS

Data of patients with esophageal cancer who underwent thoracoscopic esophagectomy between 2016 and 2020 were collected. Early-period patients received cefazolin (CEZ) per protocol as antimicrobial prophylaxis (n = 250), and later-period patients received ampicillin/sulbactam (ABPC/SBT) (n = 106) because of the unavailability of CEZ in Japan. The incidence of pneumonia was compared between treatments in this quasi-experimental setting. Pneumonia detected by routine computed tomography (CT) on postoperative Days 5-6 was defined as early-onset pneumonia, and pneumonia that developed later was defined as late-onset pneumonia.

RESULTS

The incidence of early-onset pneumonia was significantly lower (3.8% vs. 13.6%, P = 0.006), and the median length of postoperative hospital stay was significantly shorter (17 vs. 20 days, P < 0.001) in the ABPC/SBT group than in the CEZ group. The incidence of late-onset pneumonia was similar between groups (9.4% vs. 10.0%, P = 0.870). The incidence of Clostridioides difficile infections and the incidence of multidrug-resistant organisms were similar between groups. Multivariate analyses consistently showed the superiority of ABPC/SBT to CEZ in preventing early-onset pneumonia (odds ratio: 0.20, P = 0.006).

CONCLUSIONS

ABPC/SBT after esophagectomy was better at preventing early-onset pneumonia compared with CEZ and was feasible regarding the development of antimicrobial resistance.

Circular stapled technique versus modified Collard technique for cervical esophagogastric anastomosis after esophagectomy: A randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE

This study was performed to investigate the efficacy of the modified Collard (MC) technique for reducing anastomotic stricture after esophagectomy compared with the circular stapled (CS) technique.

SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA

The currently available techniques of anastomosis after esophagectomy are associated with a significant risk of anastomotic complications. However, the optimal anastomotic technique after esophagectomy has not yet been established.

METHODS

We randomly allocated patients to either the CS group or the MC group. The primary endpoint was the incidence of anastomotic stricture. The secondary endpoints included the incidence of postoperative complications (including anastomotic leakage) and quality of life (QOL). All anastomoses were performed after indocyanine green evaluation for objective homogenization of blood flow to the gastric conduit between the two techniques.

RESULTS

Among 100 randomized patients (CS group, n = 50; MC group, n = 50), anastomotic strictures were observed in 18 (42%) patients in the CS group and in no patients in the MC group. There were no significant between-group differences in anastomotic leakage (CS group, 7% vs. MC group, 8%; p = 0.94). QOL domains of dysphagia and choking when swallowing at 3 months after surgery were significantly better in the MC group than in the CS group.

CONCLUSIONS

The MC technique reduces the incidence of anastomotic stricture and improves postoperative QOL. Furthermore, the incidence of anastomotic leakage is comparable between the two techniques based on accurate comparison under objective homogenization of the gastric conduit condition.

Low-Protein, Hypocaloric Nutrition with Glutamine versus Full-Feeding in the Acute Phase in ICU Patients with Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the 28-day mortality, the length of ICU stay, days in the hospital, days of ventilator use, adverse events, and nosocomial infection events of low-protein, hypocaloric nutrition with glutamine in the first 7 days of the intensive care unit (ICU) patients with severe traumatic brain injury (STBI).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 53 patients diagnosed with STBI enrolled from the third affiliated hospital of Nanchang University (Nanchang, China), from January 2019 to July 2020, were divided into two groups. We performed a randomized prospective controlled trial. The intervention group (n=27) was nutritional supported (intestinal or parenteral) with a caloric capacity of 20-40% of European Conference on Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) recommendations; specifically, low-protein intake was 0.5-0.7g/kg per day (containing the amount of alanyl-glutamine), glutamine was 0.3 g/kg per day, and the intervention treatment lasted for 7 days. The control group (n=26) was nutritionally supported with a caloric capacity of 70-100% of ESPEN recommendations, and the protein intake was 1.2-1.7 g/kg per day. The primary endpoint was 28-day mortality. Secondary endpoints were the length of ICU stay, days in the hospital, days of ventilator use, adverse events and nosocomial infection events.

RESULTS

There were no differences in baseline characteristics between groups. Survival curve analysis using the Kaplan-Meier method revealed no significant difference in 28-day mortality between the two groups (P=0.31) while adverse events (χ ²= 5.853, P=0.016), nosocomial infection rate (χ ² = 4.316, P=0.038), the length of ICU stay (t=-2.617, P=0.012), hospitalization time (t=-2.169, P=0.036), and days of ventilator use (t=-2.144,P=0.037) of patients in the intervention group were significantly lower than those in the control group.

CONCLUSION

Low-protein, hypocaloric nutrition with glutamine did not show different outcomes in 28-day mortality compared to full-feeding nutritional support in the ICU patients with STBI. However, low-protein, hypocaloric nutrition with glutamine could provide a lower need for ICU time, hospitalization time, and ventilator time in the ICU patients with STBI.

Psychological impact of high-quality nursing care on patients with esophageal cancer during perioperative period: A protocol of systematic review

BACKGROUND

This study is designed to systematically assess the psychological impact of high-quality nursing care (HQNC) on patients with esophageal cancer during perioperative period (ECPP).

METHODS

Several electronic databases will be searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or case-control studies (CCSs) on HQNC in the management of ECPP from inception to present: Cochrane Library, PUBMED, EMBASE, SinoMed, Web of Science, WANGFANG, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure. We will not apply any language limitation to all literature searches. Two authors will independently perform literature selection, data extraction and literature quality evaluation. All disagreements will be resolved by a third author through discussion. Cochrane risk of bias tool will be employed to assess trial quality, and RevMan 5.3 software will be utilized to carry out statistical analysis.

RESULTS

This study will summarize the current evidence to appraise of the psychological impact of HQNC in the management of ECPP.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this study may help to explicit whether HQNC is effective on psychological problem in ECPP. It will also provide scientific evidence for the clinical practice and future researches.

STUDY REGISTRATION

INPLASY202080071.

Long-Term Outcome of Patients with Locally Advanced Clinically Unresectable Esophageal Cancer Undergoing Conversion Surgery after Induction Chemotherapy with Docetaxel Plus Cisplatin and 5-Fluorouracil

BACKGROUND

Although definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is recommended for patients with locally advanced unresectable esophageal cancer, the outcome is unsatisfactory. We previously demonstrated the safety and efficacy of induction chemotherapy with docetaxel plus cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (DCF) and subsequent conversion surgery (CS) for patients with locally advanced unresectable esophageal cancer. However, whether or not induction DCF chemotherapy and subsequent CS improve the long-term outcomes of patients with locally advanced unresectable esophageal cancer is unclear.

METHODS

A total of 177 consecutive patients with locally advanced unresectable esophageal cancer without distant metastasis were included in this study. Of these, 55 patients received DCF induction chemotherapy, of whom 36 underwent CS. We divided these 36 patients into two groups according to clinical response, which was analyzed retrospectively.

RESULTS

The toxicities related to DCF chemotherapy were manageable. The response rate to induction DCF chemotherapy was 67%. R0 resection was achieved in 81% of the 36 patients who underwent subsequent CS. No serious postoperative complications were observed. Histopathological CR was achieved in 17% of the 36 patients, and the 3- and 5-year survival rates after CS were 61% and 54%, respectively. The outcomes of the patients who obtained good clinical response was better than the outcomes of patients who did not.

CONCLUSIONS

Induction DCF chemotherapy and subsequent CS show acceptable toxicity and offer the chance of long-term survival in patients with locally advanced clinically unresectable esophageal cancer.