Safety and Efficacy of Fish Oil–Enriched Parenteral Nutrition Regimen on Postoperative Patients Undergoing Major Abdominal Surgery

Background: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a fish oil–enriched parenteral nutrition regimen in patients undergoing major abdominal surgery, a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was conducted. Methods: An electronic search of PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Academic Search Premier, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases was performed in March 2009. RevMan 5.0 was used for statistical analysis. Results: The combined analysis showed that a fish oil–enriched parenteral nutrition regimen had a positive treatment effect on length of hospital stay (weighed mean difference = −2.98, P < .001), length of intensive care unit stay, postoperative infection rate (odds ratio = 0.56, P = .04), and serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and α-tocopherol on postoperative day 6 in these patients. The regimen increased the plasma levels of eicosapentaenoic acid (standardized mean difference = 3.11, P < .001) and docosahexaenoic acid and upregulated the leukotriene B₅ production in leukocytes on postoperative day 6. No significant differences were found between the 2 groups in postoperative mortality; incidence of postoperative cardiac complications; serum levels of bilirubin, triglyceride, or arachidonic acid; or the liberation of leukotriene B₄. No serious adverse events related to fish oil treatment were reported. Conclusions: Based on the meta-analysis, fish oil–supplemented parenteral nutrition was safe, improved clinical outcomes, and altered the fatty acid pattern as well as leukotriene synthesis. More laboratory parameters should be considered in future meta-analyses.