Combination of arginine and omega-3 fatty acids enteral nutrition in critically ill and surgical patients: a meta-analysis

Abstract

Immunonutrients may improve outcomes in critically ill and surgical patients. The objective of this meta-analysis was to determine if the combination of arginine and omega-3 fatty acids impacts infection rate, hospital length of stay and mortality in critically ill or surgical patients. In total, 23 studies met all of the criteria. Immunonutrition with arginine and omega-3 fatty acids was administered either pre- or post-operatively or during intensive care unit stay in seven, ten and six studies, respectively. Infection rate and length of stay were significantly lower in patients receiving immunonutrition compared with the control group. In a subgroup analysis, these differences were maintained in the pre- and post-operative populations, but were not significant in the critically ill population. Mortality was not significantly different between the immunonutrition and control groups.