Nutritional support in patients with systemic scleroderma.

Systemic scleroderma often involves the gastrointestinal tract and can lead to significant malnutrition. Specialized home nutritional support was provided to five patients (one enteral and four parenteral) with restoration of adequate nutritional status, improved quality of life, and few metabolic or technical complications over a period of 12 to 86 months. Three patients eventually died of their disease, one was converted to an oral diet, and one patient remains dependent on total parenteral nutrition. This experience would recommend consideration of home nutritional support in patients with systemic scleroderma when the disease is relatively stable and no major organ failure is present.