Immunonutrition in Major Abdominal Surgery

The meta-analysis of 87 studies involving 8,375 patients revealed that perioperative oral/enteral immunonutrition containing arginine, glutamine, and polyunsaturated fatty acids significantly reduces morbidity rates (odds ratio of 0.32). Additionally, postoperative enteral immunonutrition with RNA, arginine, and polyunsaturated fatty acids may lower mortality rates, but with less certainty (odds ratio of 0.59). However, the impact of immunonutrition on infectious disease rates, length of stay, and heterogeneity remains unclear. It was determined that the use of 2 or 3 components in oral/enteral immunonutrition is crucial for reducing morbidity rates among patients undergoing major abdominal surgery.