We evaluated 22 patients of both sexes, undergoing gastrointestinal resection due to cancer. Patients were randomized into two groups: control group (n = 12; 6-8 h fast) and the intervention group (n = 10; fasted to solids for 6 h; and given a beverage containing 11 % pea protein hydrolysate and 89 % carbohydrates (79 % maltodextrin and 21 % sucrose), 400 mL the night before and 200 mL 3 h before surgery. Blood samples were collected the morning before surgery and on postoperative day?2.
Overall mortality was 4.5 % (one case, control group). The duration of postoperative hospital stay was twofold longer in the control group (P = 0.04). A significant increase of serum C-reactive protein/albumin ratio was observed in controls compared with the intervention group (P = 0.04).
The abbreviation of preoperative fasting time to 3 h using a solution containing carbohydrates and hydrolyzed pea proteins reduces the acute-phase inflammatory response and decreases the postoperative length of stay in patients undergoing major surgery for a malignancy.