Early enteral nutrition and length of stay in stroke patients.

The effect of early enteral nutrition on length of stay (LOS) in hospitalized surgical patients has been previously documented. In this study, a sample of a large medical population (stroke patients) was examined to determine if early enteral nutrition affected LOS. A retrospective review of the medical records of nonsurgical stroke patients receiving enteral nutrition, discharged between January 1, 1988 and January 31, 1991, was undertaken. Time to initiation of enteral feeding and LOS were recorded. In patients fed within 72 hours of admission (N = 20), LOS was 20.14 (SD 12.87) days. The LOS for patients fed later than 72 hours from the time of admission (N = 32) was 29.76 (SD 20.05) days. The difference between the groups in LOS was statistically significant (p = 0.036). Although further study is warranted, we concluded that early enteral nutrition may be a factor in shortening LOS in stroke patients.