"Nil by mouth" after gastrointestinal surgery may be harmful

Early feeding after gastrointestinal surgery reduces the risk of infections and shortens length of stay in hospital. Lewis and colleagues (p 773) systematically reviewed the evidence from randomised controlled trials that compared early feeding with management by "nil by mouth" after elective gastrointestinal surgery. The authors argue that keeping patients nil by mouth may do more harm than good and that a large trial is required to confirm or refute the benefits of early feeding that were seen in small trials.


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Relevant Article

Early enteral feeding versus "nil by mouth" after gastrointestinal surgery: systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials
Stephen J Lewis, Matthias Egger, Paul A Sylvester, and Steven Thomas
BMJ 2001 323: 773. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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