Does perioperative oral nutritional supplementation started before hospital admission improve clinical course and cost of care in patients undergoing lower gastrointestinal tract surgery?
Perioperative oral nutritional supplementation reduces weight loss and minor complications while being cost-effective in lower gastrointestinal surgery.
Perioperative oral nutritional supplementation started before hospital admission for lower gastrointestinal tract surgery significantly diminished the degree of weight loss and incidence of minor complications, and was cost-effective.
Smedley et al. (2004) studied this question.