The benefits of early enteral feeding (EEN) have been demonstrated in gastrointestinal surgery. But, the impact of EEN has not been elucidated yet. We assessed the postoperative nutritional status of patients who had undergone pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) according to the postoperative nutritional method and compared the clinical outcomes of two methods. A prospective randomized trial was undertaken following PD. Patients were randomly divided into two groups; the EEN group received the postoperative enteral feed and the control group received the postoperative total parenteral nutrition (TPN) management. Thirty-eight patients were included in our analyses. The first day of bowel movement and time to take a normal soft diet was significantly shorter in EEN group than in TPN group. Prealbumin and transferrin were significantly reduced on post-operative day (POD) 7 and were slowly recovered until POD 90 in the TPN group than in the EEN group. EEN group rapidly recovered weight after POD 21 whereas it was gradually decreased in TPN group until POD 90. EEN after PD is associated with preservation of weight compared with TPN and impact on recovery of digestive function after PD.
Aged ; Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal/physiopathology/surgery/therapy ; Digestive System/physiopathology ; *Enteral Nutrition/adverse effects ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nutritional Status ; Pancreatic Neoplasms/physiopathology/surgery/therapy ; *Pancreaticoduodenectomy/adverse effects ; *Parenteral Nutrition, Total ; Postoperative Care/*methods ; Postoperative Period ; Prospective Studies ; Time Factors ; Treatment Outcome ; Weight Gain

BACKGROUNDThe coagulation function in patients with pancreatic carcinoma is abnormal and the reason is not very clear. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed the coagulation function in patients with pancreatic carcinoma.

METHODSFrom June 2004 to December 2007, 132 patients received diagnosis and treatment in our hospital. The coagulative parameters including the prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, and fibrinogen levels were collected and studied retrospectively.

RESULTSThe average fibrinogen levels in patients with pancreatic carcinoma, (476.21 +/- 142.05) mg/dl, were significantly higher than in patients with cholangiolithiasis, (403.28 +/- 126.41) mg/dl (P < 0.05). In patients with pancreatic carcinoma, the levels of fibrinogen in the group with jaundice were significantly higher than in patients without jaundice (P < 0.05). In patients who received Pancreaticoduodenectomy, Whipple's operation, the level of fibrinogen in the group with local invasiveness was significantly higher than in the group without invasiveness. The group with lymphatic metastasis had higher levels than the group without lymphatic metastasis (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference of intraoperative blood loss between patients with vitamin K, (748.27 +/- 448.51) ml, and those without vitamin K, (767.31 +/- 547.89) ml (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThe level of fibrinogen in patients with pancreatic carcinoma was elevated. The elevated fibrinogen level may be associated with invasiveness and lymphatic metastasis. Using vitamin K in perioperation management did not reduce intraoperative blood loss.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Blood Coagulation ; physiology ; Cholelithiasis ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; surgery ; Female ; Fibrinogen ; metabolism ; Humans ; Jaundice ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; physiopathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Pancreaticoduodenectomy ; Retrospective Studies ; Vitamin K ; therapeutic use ; Young Adult