IMPACT OF ENTERAL NUTRITION ON INTESTINAL BACTERIAL TRANSLOCATION ANDMORTALITY IN BURNED MICE

The aim of these experiments was to study the effect of early enteral nutrition with either standard or enriched (arginine, n-3 fatty acids, RNA) enteral formulas on translocation of bacteria from the gut and a cute mortality rate following thermal injury. In the first experiment 60 Balb/c mice were gavaged with 10(10) Escherichia coil and received a 20% burn injury. In 40 mice enteral nutrition (20 standard, 20 enric hed) was started immediately after injury and stopped 36 h later. In t he control group (n = 20) aliquotes of Ringer's solution was administe red intragastrically. Mortality rate was observed for 10 days post-inj ury. In the second experiment 60 Balb/c mice were gavaged with 10(10) E. coil labelled with biotin(111) Indium and then burned. In 40 mice e nteral nutrition (20 standard, 20 enriched) was started immediately af ter burn. The control group (n = 20) received aliquotes of Ringer's so lution. 4 h after injury all animals were sacrificed and liver, lungs, kidneys, spleen and systemic blood were harvested, and radionuclide c ounts were measured. No animal died after day 3 post-burn. The mortali ty rate was significantly lower at day 1 in the groups infused with bo th enteral solutions (15%) compared to controls (30%; p = 0.05). At da y 3 the animals fed with the enriched diets showed a lower mortality ( 5%) versus the standard and control groups (10%). Bacterial translocat ion to the liver and lungs was significantly higher in Ringer's group than in both enterally fed groups. Early post-burn enteral nutrition r educes both translocation and acute mortality. Supplementation of the diets with specific nutrients appears to exert additional advantages o n outcome.