Effect of early enteral nutrition in elderly patients with hip fracture during the perioperative period.

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the effects of early enteral nutrition (EN) in elderly patients with hip fracture. The patients were classified into two groups (with and without EN). We compared the pre- and postoperative albumin (ALB) and inflammatory marker levels of each group and the time spent in bed and quality of life 3 months after surgery between the two groups. The pre- and postoperative IL-6 levels of the experimental group (61.68 ± 51.80 pg/L) were lower than those of the control group (233.11 ± 206.31 pg/L) (P< 0.001). The experimental group spent a shorter period of time in bed (38.75 ± 14.26 days) in comparison to the control group (99.71 ± 56.87 days) (P< 0.001). Quality of life was better in the experimental group than in the control group (P< 0.001). Early EN reduced the increment of postoperative IL-6 levels and improved healing postoperatively.