Early oral feeding reduced recovery time after surgery for gynaecological malignancies
Question Is early oral feeding after major gynaecological oncological surgery as effective and safe as nasogastric decompression and feeding at first passage of flatus?
Design
Randomised (concealed), unblinded, controlled trial.
Setting
3 university affiliated hospitals in Italy.
Patients
122 patients who had elective laparotomy for gynaecological malignancies. Exclusion criteria were previous pelvic or abdominal radiotherapy; intestinal obstruction before surgery; gastrointestinal, breast, pancreatic, or biliary duct neoplasia diagnosed during surgery; concomitant intestinal resection; and duration of surgery <60 minutes.
Intervention
Patients were stratified by duration of surgery and type of tumour. 61 patients were allocated to receive early oral feeding of clear fluids on the morning of the first day after surgery and a semi-liquid fibreless diet within the next 24 hours. The diet was accelerated as tolerated to a regular diet. 61 patients were allocated to have nasogastric decompression and removal of the nasogastric tube after first passage of flatus or …
