Immunonutrition: does it have a role in improving recovery in patients receiving a stem cell transplant?

Numerous clinical trials have demonstrated that immunomodulating diets (IMDs) reduce treatment complications such as the risk of acquired infections, length of hospital stay, and wound complications in patients receiving planned surgery. These complications are possibly exacerbated by malnutrition at the time of surgery, resulting in decreased cell-mediated and humoral immune responses, which can be improved with the utilization of IMDs both prior to and following surgery. Although numerous randomized studies have investigated IMDs in the surgical setting, IMDs have not been well studied to evaluate whether their use improves outcomes for other patient groups with high incidence of malnutrition and acquired infections.