Effect of energy- and/or protein-dense enteral feeding on postoperative outcomes of infant surgical patients with congenital cardiac disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Infants with congenital heart disease (CHD) are malnourished because of poor dietary intakes and increased requirements. Energy requirements are higher due to increased resting energy expenditure. There are lacunae of nutrition recommendations for these infants. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to determine the effect of energy- and/or protein-dense feeds in postoperative CHD infants as compared with the standard feeding. An online literature search was performed on four databases by using different English-language keywords between 2000 and 2020. The inclusion criteria were peer reviewed journals and open access original articles on the feeding practices in infants undergoing congenital heart surgery. Exclusion criteria were editorials, commentaries, discussion papers, conference abstracts, reviews, duplicate studies, and articles on preterm infants and preoperative nutrition. A total of five studies matched the inclusion criteria. The standard mean difference (SMD) of energy intake (SMD = 13.40 kcal, P = 0.001), protein intake (SMD = 2.37 g, P = 0.001), and weight (SMD = 4.99 g, P = 0.001) was significantly higher in the intervention group. The SMD of ventilation duration (SMD = -0.18 h, P = 0.90), intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS) (SMD = -0.25 d, P = 0.70), and hospital LOS (SMD = -0.20 d, P = 0.67) were not statistically significant between the two groups. Enriched enteral nutrition for the postoperative pediatric patients with cardiac disease helps in achieving energy and protein goals and improves the overall postoperative outcomes (ie, ventilation duration, maintenance of weight, ICU LOS, and hospital LOS).