Effects of fat emulsion-based early parenteral nutrition for patients after hemihepatectomy

This study investigates the effects of fat emulsion-based early parenteral nutrition in patients following hemihepatectomy, addressing a critical gap in clinical knowledge regarding parenteral nutrition after hemihepatectomy. We retrospectively analysed clinical data from 274 patients who received non-fat emulsion-based parenteral nutrition (non-fatty nutrition group) and 297 patients who received fat emulsion-based parenteral nutrition (fatty nutrition group) after hemihepatectomy. Fat emulsion-based early parenteral nutrition significantly reduced levels of post-operative aspartate aminotransferase, total bilirubin and direct bilirubin, while minor decreases in red blood cell and platelet counts were observed in the fatty nutrition group. Importantly, fat emulsion-based early parenteral nutrition shortened lengths of post-operative hospital stay and fasting duration, but did not affect the incidence of short-term post-operative complications. Subgroup analyses revealed that the supplement of <i>n</i>-3 fish oil emulsions was significantly associated with a reduced inflammatory response and risk of post-operative infections. These findings indicate that fat emulsion-based early parenteral nutrition enhances short-term post-operative recovery in patients undergoing hemihepatectomy.