Acute pancreatitis (AP) remains a formidable disease with significant mortality and major morbidity. The nutritional issues are at least as complex and controversial as other facets of therapy. AP is diabetogenic and catabolic and affects all major organ systems including the intestine. As early as 1973, it became one of the first non-surgical indications for parenteral nutrition (PN) [1]. The ...

Nasogastric (NG) and Nasojejunal (NJ) feeding are feasible ways in enteral nutrition (EN) of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). However, which is the optimal approach has long been debated among experts. This meta-analysis was to examine the differences in efficacy and safety of the two routes for patients with SAP. We searched the Cochrane Library, PubMed, EM base Databases, Web of Science, Wanf...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Unguided nasojejunal feeding tube insertion success rates are low. Controversy persists about how to safely and efficiently perform enteral nutrition (EN) in critically ill patients. This study explores an innovative blind nasointestinal tube (NIT) insertion method and compares nasogastric and nasointestinal feeding. METHODS Seventy critically ill patients admitted to...

A 58-year-old man with esophageal cancer underwent a transhiatal esophagectomy and presented to the surgical intensive care unit (SICU) with progressively worsening shortness of breath 14 days after his surgery. The patient was found to have a left empyema, possibly from an anastomotic leak, and underwent a left video-assisted thoracotomy (VATS) decortication and empyema drainage, and endoscopi...

BACKGROUND Nasogastric or nasojejunal decompression has been used routinely to prevent anastomotic leakage, hasten the return of bowel function and shorten hospital stay after gastrectomy for gastric cancer. This meta-analysis evaluates the necessity for such routine decompression. METHODS Medline, Embase and The Cochrane Library were searched. Only prospective randomized controlled trials (R...