The effect of enteral nutritional support on skeletal muscle protein synthesis and whole-body protein turnover in fasted surgical patients.

Whole-body and muscle protein turnover have been studied in surgical patients, before abdominal surgery after an 18-h fast, using infusion of 1-[13C]leucine. Four patients received an unmodified hospital diet and four received extra nutritional support (1800 kcal, 70 g protein) by naso-jejunal tube for 7-10 d previously. In patients who received nutritional support there were significantly greater values of whole-body protein synthesis (+42 per cent, P less than 0.05) and breakdown (+45 per cent, P less than 0.01) and muscle protein synthesis (+36 per cent, P less than 0.05) than in those who received the unmodified hospital diet.