[Long-term TPN for short bowel syndrome].

One hundred and sixty three children who received total parenteral nutrition (TPN), including 7 cases of short bowel syndrome, were studied to evaluate the role of TPN in the management of infants with extremely short bowel. Three of the seven were died of sepsis related with central venous catheter (CV catheter) during the period of malabsorption when TPN was necessary. Two children of other diseases were died of catheter sepsis, 5 out of 163 in total, making the mortality late of TPN 3%. Incidence of CV catheter related complications was significantly less frequent in Broviac catheter when compared with conventional Silastic catheter (p less than 0.01). Another significant complication of TPN in cases of short bowel syndrome was hepatic dysfunction. Cholestatic liver dysfunction seemed to be cleared when enteral feeding was started even with TPN going on. Oral feeding should be started in the early postoperative period with concomitant TPN covering the fluid loss. A case of copper deficiency with high output jejunostomy and a case of urolithiasis with hyperoxaluria complicated with short bowel were reported.