Parenteral nutrition-associated metabolic bone disease

ESPEN guideline on chronic intestinal failure in adults - Update 2023

BACKGROUND & AIMS

In 2016, ESPEN published the guideline for Chronic Intestinal Failure (CIF) in adults. An updated version of ESPEN guidelines on CIF due to benign disease in adults was devised in order to incorporate new evidence since the publication of the previous ESPEN guidelines.

METHODS

The grading system of the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) was used to grade the literature. Recommendations were graded according to the levels of evidence available as A (strong), B (conditional), 0 (weak) and Good practice points (GPP). The recommendations of the 2016 guideline (graded using the GRADE system) which were still valid, because no studies supporting an update were retrieved, were reworded and re-graded accordingly.

RESULTS

The recommendations of the 2016 guideline were reviewed, particularly focusing on definitions, and new chapters were included to devise recommendations on IF centers, chronic enterocutaneous fistulas, costs of IF, caring for CIF patients during pregnancy, transition of patients from pediatric to adult centers. The new guideline consist of 149 recommendations and 16 statements which were voted for consensus by ESPEN members, online in July 2022 and at conference during the annual Congress in September 2022. The Grade of recommendation is GPP for 96 (64.4%) of the recommendations, 0 for 29 (19.5%), B for 19 (12.7%), and A for only five (3.4%). The grade of consensus is "strong consensus" for 148 (99.3%) and "consensus" for one (0.7%) recommendation. The grade of consensus for the statements is "strong consensus" for 14 (87.5%) and "consensus" for two (12.5%).

CONCLUSIONS

It is confirmed that CIF management requires complex technologies, multidisciplinary and multiprofessional activity, and expertise to care for the underlying gastrointestinal disease and to provide HPN support. Most of the recommendations were graded as GPP, but almost all received a strong consensus.

Home Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition

While the history of nutrition support dates to the ancient world, modern home parenteral and enteral nutrition (HPEN) has been available since the 1960s. Home enteral nutrition is primarily for patients in whom there is a reduction in oral intake below the amount needed to maintain nutrition or hydration (i.e., oral failure), whereas home parenteral nutrition is used for patients when oral-enteral nutrition is temporarily or permanently impossible or absorption insufficient to maintain nutrition or hydration (i.e., intestinal failure). The development of home delivery of these therapies has revolutionized the field of clinical nutrition. The use of HPEN appears to be increasing on a global scale, and because of this, it is important for healthcare providers to understand all that HPEN entails to provide safe, efficacious, and cost-effective support to the HPEN patient. In this article, we provide a comprehensive review of the indications, patient requirements, monitoring, complications, and overall process of managing these therapies at home. Whereas some of the information in this article may be applicable to the pediatric patient, the focus is on the adult population.

Monitoring of long-term parenteral nutrition in children with intestinal failure

Pediatric intestinal failure (IF) is a rare and complex condition associated with significant morbidity and mortality. It is defined as the reduction of gut mass or function below the minimal needed for absorption of nutrients and fluid to sustain life and growth. Since the advent of specialized multidisciplinary intestinal rehabilitation centers, IF management has considerably evolved in the last years, but serious complications of long-term parenteral nutrition (PN) can occur. Main complications include intestinal failure-associated liver disease, growth failure, body composition imbalance, central venous access complications, micronutrient deficiencies and toxicities, metabolic bone disease, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, and renal disease. With improvement in survival rates of patients over the last 20 years, emphasis should be on limiting IF-related comorbidities and improving quality of life. Close monitoring is pivotal to ensuring quality of care of these patients. The care of children with chronic IF should involve a comprehensive monitoring plan with flexibility for individualization according to specific patient needs. Monitoring of children on long-term PN varies significantly across units and is mainly based on experience, although few guidelines exist. This narrative review summarizes the current knowledge and practices related to monitoring of children with IF. The authors also share their 20-year experience at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne Australia on this topic.

Bacteria, Bones, and Stones: Managing Complications of Short Bowel Syndrome

Short bowel syndrome (SBS) occurs in patients who have had extensive resection. The primary physiologic consequence is malabsorption, resulting in fluid and electrolyte abnormalities and malnutrition. Nutrient digestion, absorption, and assimilation may also be diminished by disturbances in the production of bile acids and digestive enzymes. Small bowel dilation, dysmotility, loss of ileocecal valve, and anatomical changes combined with acid suppression and antimotility drugs increase the risk of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, further contributing to malabsorption. Metabolic changes that occur in SBS due to loss of colonic regulation of gastric and small bowel function can also lead to depletion of calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D, resulting in demineralization of bone and the eventual development of bone disease. Persistent inflammation, steroid use, parenteral nutrition, chronic metabolic acidosis, and renal insufficiency may exacerbate the problem and contribute to the development of osteoporosis. Multiple factors increase the risk of nephrolithiasis in SBS. In the setting of fat malabsorption, increased free fatty acids are available to bind to calcium, resulting in an increased concentration of unbound oxalate, which is readily absorbed across the colonic mucosa where it travels to the kidney. In addition, there is an increase in colonic permeability to oxalate stemming from the effects of unabsorbed bile salts. The risk of nephrolithiasis is compounded by volume depletion, metabolic acidosis, and hypomagnesemia, resulting in a decrease in renal perfusion, urine output, pH, and citrate excretion. This review examines the causes and treatments of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, bone demineralization, and nephrolithiasis in SBS.

Home Care Management of Intestinal Transplant Recipients

During the past 14 years, significant advances have been made in the field of intestinal transplantation. Patients' survival rates have increased, influencing referral patterns, and there has been a growing trend toward shortened hospitalizations with earlier discharge. Home care has also evolved during this same period, with development of the resources, training, and processes required for in-home management of patients with multiple complex needs. Together these trends have led to the ability to provide care and services to higher acuity patients in the outpatient and home setting after intestinal transplantation. In this article, we review the infusion management of intestinal transplant recipients before and after they go home and the rationale for the need for specialized home care services.

Parenteral Nutrition Basics for the Clinician Caring for the Adult Patient

Parenteral nutrition (PN) is a life-sustaining therapy providing nutrients to individuals with impaired intestinal tract function and enteral access challenges. It is one of the most complex prescriptions written routinely in the hospital and home care settings. This article is to aid the nutrition support clinician in the safe provision of PN, including selecting appropriate patients for PN, vascular access, development of a PN admixture, appropriate therapy monitoring, recognition of preparation options, and awareness of preparation and stability concerns.

ESPEN guidelines on chronic intestinal failure in adults

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Chronic Intestinal Failure (CIF) is the long-lasting reduction of gut function, below the minimum necessary for the absorption of macronutrients and/or water and electrolytes, such that intravenous supplementation is required to maintain health and/or growth. CIF is the rarest organ failure. Home parenteral nutrition (HPN) is the primary treatment for CIF. No guidelines (GLs) have been developed that address the global management of CIF. These GLs have been devised to generate comprehensive recommendations for safe and effective management of adult patients with CIF.

METHODS

The GLs were developed by the Home Artificial Nutrition & Chronic Intestinal Failure Special Interest Group of ESPEN. The GRADE system was used for assigning strength of evidence. Recommendations were discussed, submitted to Delphi rounds, and accepted in an online survey of ESPEN members.

RESULTS

The following topics were addressed: management of HPN; parenteral nutrition formulation; intestinal rehabilitation, medical therapies, and non-transplant surgery, for short bowel syndrome, chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction, and radiation enteritis; intestinal transplantation; prevention/treatment of CVC-related infection, CVC-related occlusion/thrombosis; intestinal failure-associated liver disease, gallbladder sludge and stones, renal failure and metabolic bone disease. Literature search provided 623 full papers. Only 12% were controlled studies or meta-analyses. A total of 112 recommendations are given: grade of evidence, very low for 51%, low for 39%, moderate for 8%, and high for 2%; strength of recommendation: strong for 63%, weak for 37%.

CONCLUSIONS

CIF management requires complex technologies, multidisciplinary and multiprofessional activity, and expertise to care for both the underlying gastrointestinal disease and to provide HPN support. The rarity of the condition impairs the development of RCTs. As a consequence, most of the recommendations have a low or very low grade of evidence. However, two-thirds of the recommendations are considered strong. Specialized management and organization underpin these recommendations.

Phosphorus and calcium: a review for the adult nutrition support clinician

Phosphorus (P) and calcium (Ca) serve vital roles in the human body and are essential components of nutrition support therapy. Regulation of P and regulation of Ca in the body are closely interrelated, and P and Ca homeostasis can be affected by several factors, including disease states, clinical condition, severity of illness, and medications. Nutrition support clinicians must understand these factors to prevent and treat P and Ca disorders in patients receiving nutrition support therapy. This review provides an overview of P and Ca for the adult nutrition support clinician, with some emphasis on the hospitalized inpatient.

The electrocardiographic method for positioning the tip of central venous catheters

Tip position of a central venous access is of paramount importance and should be verified before starting infusion. Intra-procedural methods for verifying the location of the tip are to be preferred, since they avoid the risks, delays and costs of repositioning the tip. Among the intra-procedural methods, the electrocardiography (EKG) method has many advantages since it is as accurate as fluoroscopy, but simpler, more readily available, less expensive, safer and more cost-effective. The only contraindication to utilizing the EKG method is the difficulty in identifying the standard P-wave on a surface EKG (this happens - usually because of severe arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation - in only approximately 7% of cases: although such patients are easily identified before the procedure, and are referred to other methods for tip positioning). When dealing with the insertion of peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC), the EKG method (using the column of saline technique) virtually has no risk of false positives. The EKG method removes the need for the post-procedural chest x-ray, as long as there is no expected risk of pleuropulmonary damage to be ruled out (example: ultrasound guided central venipuncture for central venous catheter insertion or any kind of PICC insertion). In conclusion, evidence is mounting that the EKG method may be a valid and cost-effective alternative to the standard radiological control of the location of the tip of any central venous access device (VAD), and that will rapidly become the preferential method for confirming the tip position during PICC insertion.

Home parenteral nutrition support for intestinal failure

Home parenteral nutrition is a life-saving treatment for many patients with intestinal failure. Expert placement and care of the vascular access device reduces the incidence of access-related complications. Careful monitoring of fluid, electrolyte, and macronutrient and micronutrient status can minimize major organ dysfunction and metabolic complications. A multidisciplined, integrated nutrition support team can allow patients with intestinal failure who need home parenteral nutrition maintain a near-normal life.

Severe osteomalacia caused by short bowel syndrome in a patient on long-term hemodialysis after parathyroidectomy

In January 2009, a 70-year-old Japanese woman on long-term dialysis was admitted to our hospital for evaluation of a painful left leg. Maintenance dialysis was started in 1982, and parathyroidectomy was performed for secondary hyperparathyroidism in 2004. Most of her small intestine was resected because of superior mesenteric artery thrombosis in 2006, and the remaining small bowel only extended 50 cm distal to the ligament of Treitz. Parenteral nutrition was started after bowel resection. Fracture of her left leg occurred suddenly without any precipitating factors in January 2009, and iliac bone biopsy revealed severe osteomalacia with an increase of total osteoid volume (57.6%) (>15%) and no fibrous tissue (0%) (<0.5%). Although phosphorus and active vitamin D were administered intravenously to correct her hypophosphatemia and vitamin D deficiency, significant improvement was not achieved. This case indicates that when a patient on long-term dialysis with parathyroidectomy also suffers from short bowel syndrome, osteomalacia may become very severe. Lack of healing of the fracture, persistence of pain, and subsequent fracture even after vigorous treatment for low serum phosphate and calcitriol levels implied that these medications were not necessarily sufficient for this patient.

Complications and monitoring - Guidelines on Parenteral Nutrition, Chapter 11

Compared to enteral or hypocaloric oral nutrition, the use of PN (parenteral nutrition) is not associated with increased mortality, overall frequency of complications, or longer length of hospital stay (LOS). The risk of PN complications (e.g. refeeding-syndrome, hyperglycaemia, bone demineralisation, catheter infections) can be minimised by carefully monitoring patients and the use of nutrition support teams particularly during long-term PN. Occuring complications are e.g. the refeeding-syndrome in patients suffering from severe malnutrition with the initiation of refeeding or metabolic, hypertriglyceridemia, hyperglycaemia, osteomalacia and osteoporosis, and hepatic complications including fatty liver, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, cholestasis, cholecystitis, and cholelithiasis. Efficient monitoring in all types of PN can result in reduced PN-associated complications and reduced costs. Water and electrolyte balance, blood sugar, and cardiovascular function should regularly be monitored during PN. Regular checks of serum electrolytes and triglycerides as well as additional monitoring measures are necessary in patients with altered renal function, electrolyte-free substrate intake, lipid infusions, and in intensive care patients. The metabolic monitoring of patients under long-term PN should be carried out according to standardised procedures. Monitoring metabolic determinants of bone metabolism is particularly important in patients receiving long-term PN. Markers of intermediary, electrolyte and trace element metabolism require regular checks.

ESPEN Guidelines on Parenteral Nutrition: home parenteral nutrition (HPN) in adult patients

Home parenteral nutrition (HPN) was introduced as a treatment modality in the early 1970s primarily for the treatment of chronic intestinal failure in patients with benign disease. The relatively low morbidity and mortality associated with HPN has encouraged its widespread use in western countries. Thus there is huge clinical experience, but there are still few controlled clinical studies of treatment effects and management of complications. The purpose of these guidelines is to highlight areas of good practice and promote the use of standardized treatment protocols between centers. The guidelines may serve as a framework for development of policies and procedures.

Metabolic bone disease in gastrointestinal illness

Metabolic bone disease is often silent, often undiagnosed, and occurs frequently in patients with chronic gastrointestinal illnesses. Potentially modifiable risk factors, such as malnutrition, malabsorption, prolonged use of glucocorticoids, and a sedentary lifestyle, can lead to low bone mass, an increased rate of bone loss, and debilitating bone disease. This article explores common gastrointestinal illnesses that place patients at risk for developing metabolic bone disease. Concepts are presented to assist the practitioner in identifying patients at risk; clinical evaluation and diagnostic test selection are discussed, and therapeutic options for the prevention and treatment of metabolic bone disease in gastrointestinal illness are presented.

Home parenteral and enteral nutrition

Home parenteral and enteral nutrition (HPEN) has evolved to become a very successful, lifesaving treatment in the management of patients with intestinal and oral failure, respectively. Nevertheless, the provision of HPEN remains intrusive, expensive, and continues to be associated with significant morbidity. The management of HPEN by a nutrition support team that optimally includes an experienced clinician, nurse specialist, dietitian, and pharmacist reduces HPEN-related morbidity and may reduce costs associated with its use. Because clinical expertise in the management of patients receiving HPEN is not widely available, the referral of these patients to experienced centers for periodic assessment should be encouraged.

Dietary and medical management of short bowel syndrome in adult patients

Resection of the small bowel can lead to malabsorption of fluid, electrolytes, minerals, and other essential nutrients, resulting in malnutrition and dehydration. Individualized and tailored nutritional management for patients with short bowel syndrome (SBS) helps to optimize intestinal absorption, leading to nutritional independence such that a patient can resume as normal a lifestyle as possible. Parenteral nutrition (PN), used to supply the required nutrients following resection, is associated with a number of complications affecting patient morbidity and mortality. Attempts should be made to wean patients from PN to an oral diet as soon as possible. Dietary management is complex and needs to be individualized for each patient on the basis of his or her specific gastrointestinal anatomy, underlying disease, and lifestyle. In addition to nutrient intake, management of SBS also requires appropriate oral rehydration, vitamin and mineral supplementation, and pharmacotherapy. Several medications provide a useful adjunctive function to dietary intervention, including antidiarrheal agents, H2 antagonists and proton pump inhibitors, pancreatic enzymes, somatostatin analogs, antimicrobials, and trophic factors.

Guidelines for management of home parenteral support in adult chronic intestinal failure patients

Management of home parenteral support in adult benign but chronic intestinal failure patients requires a nutrition support team using disease-specific pathways. Education of patients to ensure they self manage home parenteral nutrition (HPN) is cornerstone to obtain minimal rate of technical complications and improvement in quality of life. Nutritive mixtures, compounded by pharmacists in single "all-in-one" bags, must be tailored according to the nutritional and intestinal status of individual patients with definition of macronutrients and water-electrolyte needs, respectively. Each PN cycle should be complete in essential nutrients to be nutritionally efficient and should have sufficient amounts of amino acids, dextrose, water, minerals, and micronutrients to avoid deficiency. When the nutritional goal is achieved, a minimum number of PN cycles per week should be implemented, guided ideally by digestive balance(s) (In-Out) of macronutrients and minerals of individual patients. Indeed, HPN is, in most cases, a complementary nonexclusive mode of nutritional support. In short gut patients--who represent 75% of chronic intestinal failure patients--encouraging enteral feeding decrease PN delivery and the risk of metabolic liver disease associated with HPN. In short gut patients with no severe renal impairment, blood citrulline dosage, in association with the remnant anatomy, is a tool to delineate transient from permanent intestinal failure. The latter group includes candidates for trophic gut factors and rehabilitative or reconstructive surgery, including intestinal transplantation. Thus, outcome improvement for intestinal failure patients needs intestinal failure teams having expertise in all medical and surgical aspects of this field.

Home care management of intestinal transplant recipients

During the past 14 years, significant advances have been made in the field of intestinal transplantation. Patients' survival rates have increased, influencing referral patterns, and there has been a growing trend toward shortened hospitalizations with earlier discharge. Home care has also evolved during this same period, with development of the resources, training, and processes required for in-home management of patients with multiple complex needs. Together these trends have led to the ability to provide care and services to higher acuity patients in the outpatient and home setting after intestinal transplantation. In this article, we review the infusion management of intestinal transplant recipients before and after they go home and the rationale for the need for specialized home care services.

Metabolic and catheter complications of parenteral nutrition

Since its introduction in the 1960s, total parenteral nutrition (TPN) has played a vital role in improving clinical outcomes for patients with acute and chronic illnesses. The evolution of TPN solutions and vascular access techniques, combined with an increased awareness and better understanding of the physiology of TPN, have improved the safety of this therapy. Nevertheless, complications are not uncommon and can be life threatening. This article provides an updated review on the metabolic and catheter complications associated with TPN.