Perioperative immunonutrition for gastrointestinal cancer: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials

Abstract Background To improve the clinical outcome, immunonutrition (IN) was usually used in the patients undergoing elective gastrointestinal caner surgery. However, its effectiveness remains uncertain. Methods Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published between 1995 and 2011 were identified and extracted by two reviewers independently from electronic databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library. The quality of included trials was assessed according to the handbook for Cochrane reviewer (V5.0.1). Statistical analysis was carried out with RevMan software. Results Nineteen RCTs involving a total of 2331 patients were included in our meta-analysis. The results showed perioperative IN significantly reduced length of hospital stay (WMD, −2.62; 95% CI, −3.26 to −1.97; P