[Total and prolonged parenteral nutrition at the hospital and at the patient's home: its socio-economic importance].

Total parenteral nutrition with "All in one" nutritive mixtures is used in France from 1970. These advances ensure a more simple treatment for intensive care units. Nutritive mixtures provide the caloric and nitrogen daily requirements added with micronutrients (electrolytes, trace elements and vitamins) and this technique allows home parenteral nutrition. "All in one" nutritive mixtures have reduced the infectious complications and the industrial quality control during parenteral solutes admixing has decreased again this infectious risk. So, nutritive mixtures result in sparing of nurse time, material for preparation and antibiotic costs. Moreover, although the costs of home parenteral nutrition are considerable, this technique still reduces annual costs by 50% to 70%, avoids prolonged hospitalization and allows the patients to resume a more normal existence at home. Development of new technologies and nutritive mixtures for specific malnutrition are now required to improve treatment of these patients with insufficiency digestive tract.