• Juan Li, Gui-Jun Xue, Yi-Ling Liu, Muhammad A Javed, Xian-Lin Zhao, Mei-Hua Wan, Guang-Yuan Chen, Kiran Altaf, Wei Huang, and Wen-Fu Tang.
• Pancreatic Diseases Research Group, Department of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
• Pancreas. 2013 Jan 1;42(1):88-91.

ObjectivesTo evaluate the safety and efficacy of early oral refeeding (EORF) in patients with mild acute pancreatitis (AP) and to investigate the optimal duration to commence EORF.MethodsA prospective, randomized, controlled trial was conducted in patients with mild AP. Patients with EORF (started oral feeding once they subjectively felt hungry) were compared with patients receiving routine oral refeeding (RORF) for time interval between disease onset and initiation of oral refeeding, total length of hospitalization (LOH), postrefeeding LOH, and adverse gastrointestinal events.ResultsThere were 75 and 74 patients in the EORF group and the RORF group, respectively, with comparable baseline characteristics. Patients in the EORF group started refeeding significantly earlier than those in the RORF group (4.56 ± 1.53 vs 6.75 ± 2.29 days; P < 0.05). Moreover, patients in the EORF group had significantly shorter total (6.8 ± 2.1 vs 10.4 ± 4.1 days; P < 0.01) and post refeeding LOH (2.24 ± 0.52 vs 3.27 ± 0.61 days; P < 0.01). There was no significant difference in adverse gastrointestinal events between the 2 groups.ConclusionIn patients with mild AP, EORF, with the subjective feeling of hunger, is safe, feasible, and reduces LOH.

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