Effects of preoperative parenteral nutrition on cell-mediated immunity in malnourished patients

Cell-mediated immunity was studied in 19 malnourished patients admitted for major abdominal surgery. Nine of them received total parenteral nutrition (TPN) before operation (the TPN group), while ten (the control group) were operated on without a period of TPN. In vitro lymphocyte proliferative responses to phytohaemagglutinin (PHA), concanavalin A (Con A) and purified protein derivative of tuberculin (PPD), were measured in whole blood cultures preoperatively, at the end of surgery and 5 days after operation. In vivo delayed skin hypersensitivity to candida, mumps, streptokinase-streptodornase and PPD was studied preoperatively and 5 days after operation. Complications in both groups were observed and recorded. Nutritional assessment was carried out by evaluating the extent of recent weight loss, the weight for height index and by measuring the arm muscle circumference (AMC), triceps skinfold thickness (TSF), the creatinine-height index (CHI) and serum albumin and prealbumin concentrations. The patient was considered to be malnourished and was included in the study, if at least three of these criteria were abnormal. In the TPN group changes in mitogen induced lymphocyte proliferative responses caused by surgery were not significant. By contrast, responses in the control group decreased significantly (P < 0.01) during surgery and most of these responses differed from the preoperative values even at the fifth postoperative day. Anergy was equally common in both groups before and after surgery. The number of infectious complications was lower in the TPN group.