Clinical Outcomes Comparing Parenteral and Nasogastric Tube Nutrition After Laryngeal and Pharyngeal Cancer Surgery

Nasogastric tube-assisted enteral feeding and parenteral feeding are utilized for nutritional support after major surgery. Although these nutritional supports have been compared before, there have been no comparative trials following surgery for laryngeal and pharyngeal cancer. In this study, 81 patients were randomized to total parenteral nutrition (TPN) or nasogastric tube nutrition (NGTN) after laryngopharyngeal cancer surgery. The two groups were well-matched demographically and clinically. Clinical outcomes such as time of commencement of oral feeding and hospital stay and complications such as fistula were similar in both groups. One case in the TPN group had catheter-related sepsis, whereas aspiration pneumonia occurred in four cases (9.8%) in the NGTN group. The daily cost of NGTN was $11.81 cheaper than that of TPN. Subjective symptoms of nasal and pharyngeal discomfort and scores on subjective swallowing were more severe in the NGTN group within the first postoperative week but became similar thereafter. Although there was no difference in objective postoperative outcomes between both groups, these results imply that each method had particular advantages and disadvantages. Nutritional support after laryngopharyngeal cancer surgery should be determined after full consideration of each patient’s conditions and surgical details along with economics.