Six years' experience of total parenteral nutrition in children with hematological malignancies at a single center: management, efficacy, and complications.

Abstract

Total parenteral nutrition (TPN) is an important issue in supportive care of children with leukemia. We studied 131 consecutive children (87 male, 44 female) with hematological malignancies who received TPN at our center from July 1984 to July 1990 with the aim of evaluating the efficacy and complications of TPN. The use of TPN was associated with lack of any alteration of the anthropometric indexes used in this study. The complications were prevalently metabolic, generally mild, and easily controlled. Laboratory monitoring of nutritional status during TPN is probably of little value in this setting. The feasibility of in-ward preparation of TPN by nurses makes TPN possible at low cost provided that patients are selected carefully.