Impact of Various Diets on Surgical Complications (IMM4)

January 10, 2026 updated by: Stanislaw Klek, Stanley Dudrick's Memorial Hospital

Impact of Immunomodulating Oral Nutrition on Surgical Complications

The optimalisation of the health status of patients scheduled for major surgery has been considered to be the most important point of perioperative care, and nutritional intervention has been perceived a key point of that intervention. Immunomodulating diets were thought to reduce cmplications, hoever recent studies put that opnion in doubt. This study was designed to assess the actual clinical significance of oral immunonutrition.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The optimalisation of the health status of patients scheduled for major surgery has been considered to be the most important point of perioperative care, and nutritional intervention has been perceived a key point of that intervention. Italian studies followed by metanalyses demonstrated the superiority of immunomodulating diets (IM) over any other preoperative nutrition, hence the surgical guidelines for enteral nutrition published by European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) in 2006 recommended to use IM for 7-14 days preoperatively in all patients undergoing major surgeries. Some authors questioned IM by showing no benefit of IM over standard enteral nutrition. Other authors observed similar results.The debate was far from being over - in 2015 a new metanalysis stated that perioperative enteral nutrition is the best option for managing clinical status of patients who underwent selective surgery for gastrointestinal cancer. One year later, ESPEN changed its surgical recommendations and advised to use IM preoperatively in malnourished and perioperatively in well-nourished patients. American recommendations remained unchanged and, according to them, it is advised to use IM preoperatively in all surgical patients, however, high-protein nutrition could also be an beneficial option.

To address those doubts and to assess the actual clinical significance of oral immunonutrition, a randomized, two center, prospective clinical trial was conducted.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
300

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Poland
    • Malopolska
      • Krakow, Malopolska, Poland, 31-115
        • Narodowy Instytut Onkologii
      • Skawina, Malopolska, Poland, 32-050
        • Stanley Dudrick's Memorial Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • no sign of malnutrition (defined as one of the following unintentional weight loss by at least 10% or body mass index (BMI) < 18),
  • good general status (Karnofsky Performance Index > 80,
  • Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) grade 0 or 1);
  • no confirmed neoplastic dissemination no severe concomitant disease (heart, lung, kidney, liver failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD], coronary aortic bypass graft [CABG], etc.),
  • no history of known allergies or drug intolerance to analyzed substances.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients malnourished or with metastatic disease,
  • pregnant,
  • in poor general status (Karnofsky <80, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) > 1),
  • recent history of severe heart, lung, kidney or liver failure,
  • history of allergies or drug intolerance

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Immunonutrition
Oral immunonutrition containing arginine, omega-PUFAs and antioxidants
Dietary supplement: Immunonutrition
diet with immunonutrients
Active Comparator: High-protein diet
Oral nutrition with high-protein content
Dietary supplement: High-protein
Oral nutrition with high-protein content
Active Comparator: Standard nutrition
Oral nutrition with standard components
Dietary supplement: Standard ONS
Oral nutrition with standard ingredients

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Infectious complications
Time Frame: 6 months
Number and type of infectious complications
6 months
Surgical complications
Time Frame: 6 months
Number and type of surgical complications
6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Length of stay
Time Frame: 6 months
Days of hospital stay after the operation
6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Stanley Dudrick's Memorial Hospital

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Stanislaw Klek, PhD, Stanley Dudrick's Memorial Hospital

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 1, 2021

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 31, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 31, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
September 25, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 25, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
October 6, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
January 13, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 10, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
October 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 4armsimmuno

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Sharing Time Frame

12 months

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

any health professional

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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