A meta-analysis of early oral refeeding and quickly increased diet for patients with mild acute pancreatitis

Abstract

Background/Aim: The objective of the study is to clarify whether early oral refeeding (EORF) and quickly increasing diet (QID) are of benefit to patients with mild acute pancreatitis compared with a traditional oral refeeding strategy. Materials and Methods: Studies were searched in PubMed, Cochrane library, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, China Biology Medicine disc and Embase. A meta-analysis was then performed, using relapse of abdominal pain, nausea/vomiting, and length of hospital stay (LOHS) as the evaluation indices. Results: Eight trials met the inclusion criteria. For the oral refeeding time group, EORF could significantly decrease the LOHS (mean deviation [MD]-1.97; 95% confidence interval (CI)-3.32 to-0.62;P = 0.004), and there was no significant difference for relapse of abdominal pain (relative risk [RR] 1.17; 95% CI 0.69-2.00;P = 0.56) or nausea/vomiting (RR 1.30; 95% CI 0.19-8.82;P = 0.79) when compared with conventional oral refeeding. For the oral refeeding material group, there was no significant difference for relapse of abdominal pain (RR 0.86; 95% CI 0.53-1.40;P = 0.54), nausea/vomiting (risk difference-0.01; 95% CI-0.19-0.18;P = 0.94), or LOHS (MD-0.88; 95% CI-2.24-0.48;P = 0.20) between the QID and stepwise increasing diet groups. Conclusion: Pure EORF or QID caused no damage to patients with mild acute pancreatitis, and EORF could significantly decrease the LOHS.