OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of the combined use of Shenmai Injection (SMI) and enteral nutrition on postoperative fatigue syndrome (POFS) in patients with gastric cancer (GC).

METHODSFifty-eight GC patients were randomized into the parenteral nutrition group (PNG, 19 cases), enteral nutrition group (ENG, 19 cases) and combined treatment group (CTG, 20 cases). The post-operative recovery in patients was observed; patients' conditions of fatigue, mood and sleep were evaluated respectively by visual analogue scale of fatigue, profile of mood states (POMS) and Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI). Meanwhile, nutritional variables, such as serum contents of total protein, albumin, pre-albumin, were measured at different time points: before operation (d0) and the 1st, 5th, and 9th day (d1, d5 and d9) after operation. Immune variables such as subsets of lymphocytes (CD3, CD4, CD8), serum immunoglobulins (IgG, IgM, IgA) were also determined.

RESULTSConditions of recovery, POMS and PSQI were better and the postoperative fatigue reduced more significantly in CTG than those in the other two groups (P < 0.05). On d9, levels of pre-albumin, CD3, CD4, CD4/CD8 in CTG were significantly higher than those in the PNG and ENG (P < 0.05), meantime, levels of albumin and IgA were higher in CTG than those in PNG (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONCombined treatment of SMI and enteral nutrition can regulate mood and sleep to some extents, and reduce the postoperative fatigue through improving nutritional status and immune function, thus speeding up the recovery of patients.