Maki Y, et al. - This study entailed an evaluation of the impacts of early oral intake on the oxygen supply-demand link in patients undergoing on-pump cardiac surgery in an early recovery after surgery program. An association of early oral intake shortly after extubation with transient but significant mixed venous oxygen saturation (SvO₂) decrease was apparent in patients who underwent fast-track recovery after open-heart surgery. Early oral intake may not be harmful as this phenomenon did not negatively influence the postoperative outcome.