ABSTRACT
Introduction The use of supplemental enteral nutrition in surgical patients has increased as
more evidence of its benefit compared with parenteral nutrition (PN) has been dem onstrated. Enteral feeding has been shown to decrease significant infections and length of hospital stay following trauma, speed the recovery of head-injured pa tients, and decrease complications in patients with pancreatitis although these ben efits cannot necessarily be applied to all surgical patients. Enteral nutrition has also been shown to be less expensive than PN in all patient groups studied. Many clini cians also consider enteral supplementation easier than PN because formulas are prepackaged and manipulation of ingredients is generally unnecessary. However, neither enteral nor parenteral feeding can be safely administered without concomi tant monitoring which is best done by a nutrition support team; however, if a team is not available, the surgeon must closely follow the patients for tolerance and com plications. Despite this drawback, it is extremely worthwhile from a cost and patient care perspective to use enteral rather than parenteral feeding whenever possible.
