To evaluate the effect of carbohydrate-electrolyte solution on the fluid balance and glucose metabolism in patients after selective operations for constipation.

Sixty-four adult patients after selective operations for constipation from November 2013 to January 2014 were enrolled and randomly divided into two groups: test group (33 cases) and control group (31 cases). The test group accepted the fluid therapy of carbohydrate- electrolyte solution, while the control group accepted the fluid of compound electrolyte and glucose solution for 3 days of 1 000 ml/d. The blood glucose, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus before the operations, before and after infusion in 3 days after operations were assayed.

No adverse reactions occurred in all patients. There was no difference in general characteristics of patients between two groups. The increase of serum glucose was observed in the two groups after operations, while there was no statistical significance between groups. The fluctuation range of serum glucose in the test group was smaller than the control group. There was no statistical significance in serum lactic acid, calcium and magnesium between groups. The serum phosphorus was below the normal level in both the test group and the control group from the first day after infusion to the third day before infusion. However, it recovered to the normal level after infusion in three days in the test group but remained abnormal in the control group (P<0.05), which suggested the supplementary effect of carbohydrate-electrolyte solution.

The carbohydrate-electrolyte solution can not only maintain stability of serum glucose, but also supplement serum phosphorus in patients after selective operations for constipation. It is a favorable choice in clinical fluid treatment.