In patients with severe acute pancreatitis enteral nutrition has been documented to provide the following benefits over Parenteral nutrition EXCEPT: decreased infection rate, decreased hospital length of stay, decreased pain, decreased mortality

• A. Decreased infection rate
• B. Decreased hospital length of stay
• C. Decreased pain
• D. Decreased mortality

Answer: (C)

Entering the body of evidence, the key idea is that feeding strategy mainly influences infectious and inflammatory complications in severe acute pancreatitis. Providing nutrition through the gut helps maintain mucosal integrity and reduce bacterial translocation, which lowers infectious complications. This benefit translates into shorter hospital stays and, in many studies, lower mortality when compared with parenteral nutrition. However, the route of nutrition does not have a consistent, direct effect on pain scores. Pain in pancreatitis is driven more by the underlying inflammatory process and its management than by how calories are delivered. So while enteral feeding reliably cuts infections, LOS, and mortality, it does not reliably reduce pain, making that the exception.