Long‐Term Home Parenteral Nutrition in Pediatrics

Abstract

SummaryOne hundred two pediatric patients received all or part of their nutritional needs parenterally at home during the past decade. All received total parenteral nutrition (TPN) at night during an 8‐to 12‐h infusion. Patients with short bowel syndrome (33%), inflammatory bowel disease (23%), chronic intractable diarrhea (15%), chronic idiopathic intestinal pseudo‐obstruction syndrome (10%), and malignancy (10%) made up the largest groups. The mean duration of parenteral support was 735 days (range, 90–3650 days); the mean number of catheters per patient was 2.1 (range, 1–8). Twenty‐one patients continue to receive full or partial home TPN: four for more than 10 years and seven for more than 5 years. Fifty‐one no longer require it and have had healing of mucosa or bowel adaptation. Complications related to administration of fluid and electrolytes were quite rare. Biotin deficiency was recognized once. Thirty‐one have died, but only 13 deaths were related to TPN. Sepsis in nine and liver failure in two were the most common causes of death in the TPN‐related group. Three of 21 still on home TPN have graduated either from high school or college. All but one of the school age children attend regular school; one attends a school for the medically disabled, another attends a school for the mentally gifted.