Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether tube feeding with a complete well-balanced nutritional formula would provide positive benefits for the health of short-term oral tumor inpatients receiving post-surgical care. Methods: Thirty-two patients received commercial feeding formula after undergoing curative surgery for oral tumor. The daily calorie intake was 35 kcal/kg of ideal body weight (IBW). For those whose body weight was over 125% of IBW, the daily calorie intake of 35 kcal/kg was based on adjusted body weight. Subjects were evaluated for their tolerance to feeding, and their nutritional status before and after surgery, and postsurgically after receiving commercial feeding formula. Results: This feeding formula was well-tolerated by all patients. Mild weight loss occurred after 7 days of receiving formula (p<0.01). Post-surgical blood nutrition indicators (such as total protein, albumin, pre-albumin, trans-ferrin and retinal binding protein) were significantly below pre-surgery levels (p<0.001). However, these values after 7 days of feeding formula were significantly higher than those after surgery alone (p<0.001). Conclusion: Surgical stress may be one of the major reasons for the poor nutritional status of patients recovering from oral tumor surgery. Careful and appropriate nutritional intervention can improve nutritional status in 7 days.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether tube feeding with a complete well-balanced nutritional formula would provide positive benefits for the health of short-term oral tumor inpatients receiving post-surgical care. Methods: Thirty-two patients received commercial feeding formula after undergoing curative surgery for oral tumor. The daily calorie intake was 35 kcal/kg of ideal body weight (IBW). For those whose body weight was over 125% of IBW, the daily calorie intake of 35 kcal/kg was based on adjusted body weight. Subjects were evaluated for their tolerance to feeding, and their nutritional status before and after surgery, and postsurgically after receiving commercial feeding formula. Results: This feeding formula was well-tolerated by all patients. Mild weight loss occurred after 7 days of receiving formula (p<0.01). Post-surgical blood nutrition indicators (such as total protein, albumin, pre-albumin, trans-ferrin and retinal binding protein) were significantly below pre-surgery levels (p<0.001). However, these values after 7 days of feeding formula were significantly higher than those after surgery alone (p<0.001). Conclusion: Surgical stress may be one of the major reasons for the poor nutritional status of patients recovering from oral tumor surgery. Careful and appropriate nutritional intervention can improve nutritional status in 7 days.