Prevalence of home parenteral nutrition in children.

Abstract

Use of HPN in paediatrics in the UK has increased rapidly over the last 20 years but the prevalence of HPN has been challenging to define. Clinicians in the UK have noted an evolving complexity of cases and perceive improved outcomes and increased acceptability of long-term PN. These factors combined have the potential to increase the burden on existing paediatric gastroenterology services in the UK. A national database was interrogated to define the prevalence of HPN in children in the UK and to explore outcomes for patients receiving HPN. Since 2015, 525 children were notified to the database; of these patients, mortality was <5% and intestinal transplant occurred in 1%. In 2019, 389 children received HPN in the UK; this is nearly double the number last reported in 2012 and is a prevalence of 30 per million children. Short bowel syndrome is the largest category of these patients. However, a poorly defined group including those with multisystem disease has increased 10 fold since 2012 and is now the second largest category. Long term HPN in childhood is safe and associated with good survival and low risk of the need for intestinal transplantation.