A 30-year-old female patient, 18 weeks gestational age, with no prior medical history was admitted to hospital complaining severe right upper quadrant pain. The patient was admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) after emergency surgery to treat intraperitoneal hemorrhage caused by rupture of liver hematoma. Despite the absence of high blood pressure, the patient was diagnosed with hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count (HELLP) syndrome on the basis of abnormal levels of blood aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, C-reactive protein (CRP) and platelet along with liver damage and proteinuria. While in ICU, the patient was given total parenteral nutrition (TPN) and enteral nutrition (EN) for –20 days because oral feeding was impractical. In the early stage, TPN supply was not sufficient to meet the elevated nutritional demand induced by disease and surgery. Nevertheless, continuous care of nutrition support team enabled satisfactory EN and, subsequently, oral feeding which led to improvement in patient outcome.
Citations
Although parenteral nutrition (PN) is an important treatment for patients who are unable to tolerate enteral nutrition (EN), recent international guidelines recommended that PN should be reserved and initiated only after 7 days in well-nourished patients. This retrospective study was conducted to analyze the effect on clinical outcomes of a PN protocol with PN starting 4 days after admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). Eighty-one patients who were admitted from January to March of 2012 were included in the pre-protocol group, and 74 patients who were admitted from April to June of 2012 were included in the post-protocol group. There were no significant differences between the two groups when the age, gender, and admission Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II scores were compared. Significantly fewer patients in the post-protocol group were provided PN (58.1% vs. 81.3%, p = 0.002), which was initiated significantly later than in the pre-protocol group (2.7 ± 2.2 days vs. 1.9 ± 2.0 days, p = 0.046). Five patients (6.2%) in the pre-protocol group acquired central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLA-BSI) in the ICU, yet none of the patients in the post-protocol group developed CLA-BSI (p = 0.03). The duration of antibiotic therapy and ICU stay were significantly shorter in the post-protocol group than in the pre-protocol group. By delaying initiation of PN, short-term clinical outcomes including incidence of CLA-BSI, antibiotic use, and ICU stay might be improved. Further research should be conducted to investigate the long-term effects of the decreased nutrient intake resulting from delayed PN.
Citations
Short Bowel Syndrome (SBS) is a condition that causes malabsorption and nutrient deficiency because a large section of the small intestine is missing or has been surgically removed. SBS may develop congenitally or from gastroenterectomy, which often change the motility, digestive, and/or absorptive functions of the small bowel. The surgical procedure for SBS and the condition itself have high mortality rates and often lead to a range of complications associated with long-term parenteral nutrition (PN). Therefore, careful management and appropriate nutrition intervention are needed to prevent complications and to help maintain the physiologic integrity of the remaining intestinal functions. Initial postoperative care should provide adequate hydration, electrolyte support and total parenteral nutrition (TPN) to prevent fatal dehydration. Simultaneously, enteral nutrition should be gradually introduced, with the final goal of using only enteral nutrition support and/or oral intake and eliminating TPN from the diet. A patient should be considered for discharge when macro and micronutrients can be adequately supplied through enteral nutrition support or oral diet. Currently, there is more research on pediatric patients with SBS than on adult patient population. A 35-year-old man with no notable medical history was hospitalized and underwent a surgery for acute appendicitis at a local hospital. He was re-operated on the 8th day after the initial surgery due to complications and was under observation when he suddenly complained of severe abdominal pain and high fever. He was immediately transferred to a tertiary hospital where the medical team discovered free air in the abdomen. He was subsequently diagnosed with panperitonitis and underwent an emergency reoperation to explore the abdomen. Although the patient was expected to be at a high risk of malnutrition due to short bowel syndrome resulting from multiple surgeries, through intensive care under close cooperation between the medical and nutrition support team, his nutritional status improved significantly through continuous central and peripheral parenteral nutrition, enteral nutrition, and oral intake. The purpose of this paper is to report the process of the patient's recovery.
First
Prev
