Photo Credit: AndreyPopov

The following is a summary of “Effects of early supplemental parenteral nutrition on new-onset infection in adults with acute severe stroke: a single-center retrospective case–control study,” published in the January 2025 issue of BMC Neurology by Ma et al. 

Early feeding improves survival in patients with acute severe stroke. Supplemental parenteral nutrition (SPN) may reduce enteral nutrition (EN) deficiencies and infection risks. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the effects of early SPN in patients with acute severe stroke. 

They enrolled 20 patients in the SPN group (EN plus early SPN within 72 h) and 40 controls in the EN group, matched by age, sex, and lesion site. The time to new-onset infections was analyzed using the student’s t-test and the Breslow generalized Wilcoxon test. 

The results showed no significant differences in baseline characteristics between the SPN and EN groups, except for higher serum leukocyte counts, neutrophil counts, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios in the SPN group (P < 0.05). The time to new-onset pneumonia was significantly delayed in the SPN group (7.6 days vs 5.2 days; mean difference, 2.5 days; 95% CI, 0.65 to 4.31; P = 0.009), as was the time to new-onset nosocomial infections (7.1 days vs 4.8 days; mean difference, 2.3 days; 95% CI, 0.46 to 4.07; P = 0.015). Kaplan–Meier analysis showed similar cumulative probabilities of new-onset pneumonia and nosocomial infections in both groups (P > 0.05). Digestive intolerance rates were similar (40% in SPN group vs 52.5% in EN group, P = 0.361). 

Investigators found that EN plus early SPN delayed the onset of pneumonia and nosocomial infections in patients with acute severe stroke, particularly in the early phase. 

Source: bmcneurol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12883-025-04050-6