RANDOMIZED TRIAL OF IMMUNE-ENHANCING ENTERAL NUTRITION IN BURN PATIENTS

Background: ''Immune-enhancing'' diets (IEDs) are aimed at improving o utcomes in patients suffering trauma and infection, This study was con ducted to evaluate a popular IED in patients suffering burn injury, Me thods: Fifty burned patients were randomized to receive either Impact (Sandoz Nutrition, Minneapolis, Minn), an IED enhanced with omega-3 fa tty acids, arginine, and RNA, or Replete (Clintec, Deerfield, III), ou r standard high-protein diet, Feedings were begun within 48 hours of i njury, and continued until patients supported themselves with oral int ake, Results: Forty-nine patients completed the study, The two feeding groups did not differ with respect to age, burn size, incidence of in halation injury, or the quantity of calories and protein received, The re were no differences between groups in mortality, length of hospital ization, hospital charges, days of ventilator support, or incidence of complications, Patients with inhalation injuries required more ventil atory support, and had longer lengths of hospitalization and higher co sts, Conclusions: Administration of an IED has no clear advantages ove r the use of less expensive high-protein enteral nutrition in burn pat ients.