Safety analysis of early oral feeding after esophagectomy in patients complicated with diabetes

Objective: To evaluate the safety of early oral feeding in patients with type II diabetes after radical resection of esophageal carcinoma. Methods The clinical data of 121 patients with type II diabetes who underwent radical resection of esophageal carcinoma in the department of cardiothoracic surgery of Jinling Hospital from January 2016 to December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the median time of starting postoperative oral feeding, the patients were divided into early oral feeding group (EOF, 67 cases) and late oral feeding group (LOF, 54 cases). Postoperative blood glucose level, incidence of complications, nutritional index (ALB, PA, TRF, Hb), immune indexes (IgA, IgG, IgM), inflammatory indexes(CRP, IL-6), normalized T12-SMA, and QLQ-C30 (Quality Of Life Questionnaire) scores were recorded and compared in the two groups. Results There was no statistical difference in preoperative nutritional index and postoperative complication rates between the two groups (p>0.05). The postoperative nutritional index (ALB, PA, TRF, Hb) and immune index (IgA, IgG, IgM) of the EOF group were higher than those of the LOF group (p<0.05), and the inflammatory indicators (CRP, IL-6) of the EOF group were significantly lower than those of the LOF group (p<0.05). Moreover, postoperative T12-SMA variation and QLQ-C30 scores of the EOF group were better than those in LOF group (p<0.05). Conclusions Early oral feeding is safe and feasible for patients with type II diabetes after radical resection of esophageal cancer, and it can improve short-term nutritional status and postoperative life quality of the patients.