The non-surgical treatment of adult patients with short bowel syndrome

Protein-based oral rehydration solutions for patients with an ileostomy: A randomised, double-blinded crossover study

BACKGROUND & AIM

Patients with an ileostomy are at increased risk of dehydration and sodium depletion. Treatments recommended may include oral rehydration solutions (ORS). We aimed to investigate if protein type or protein hydrolysation affects absorption from iso-osmolar ORS in patients with an ileostomy.

METHODS

This was a randomised, double-blinded, active comparator-controlled 3 × 3 crossover intervention study. We developed three protein-based ORS with whey protein isolate, caseinate or whey protein hydrolysate. The solutions contained 40-48 g protein/L, 34-45 mmol sodium/L and had an osmolality of 248-270 mOsm/kg. The patients ingested 500 mL/d. The study consisted of three 4-week periods with a >2-week washout between each intervention. The primary outcome was wet-weight ileostomy output. Ileostomy output and urine were collected for a 24-h period before and after each intervention. Additionally, blood sampling, dietary records, muscle-strength tests, bioimpedance analyses, questionnaires and psychometric tests were conducted.

RESULTS

We included 14 patients, of whom 13 completed at least one intervention. Ten patients completed all three interventions. Wet-weight ileostomy output did not change following either of the three interventions and did not differ between interventions (p = 0.38). A cluster of statistically significant improvements related to absorption was observed following the intake of whey protein isolate ORS, including decreased faecal losses of energy (-365 kJ/d, 95% confidence interval (CI), -643 to -87, p = 0.012), potassium (-7.8 mmol/L, 95%CI, -12.0 to -3.6, p = 0.001), magnesium (-4.0 mmol/L, 95%CI, -7.4 to -0.7, p = 0.020), improved plasma aldosterone (-4674 pmol/L 95%CI, -8536 to -812, p = 0.019), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (2.8 mL/min/1.73 m2, 95%CI, 0.3 to 5.4, p = 0.03) and CO2 (1.7 mmol/L 95%CI, 0.1 to 3.3, p = 0.04).

CONCLUSION

Ingestion of 500 mL/d of iso-osmolar solutions containing either whey protein isolate, caseinate or whey protein hydrolysate for four weeks resulted in unchanged and comparable ileostomy outputs in patients with an ileostomy. Following whey protein isolate ORS, we observed discrete improvements in a series of absorption proxies in both faeces and blood, indicating increased absorption. The protein-based ORS were safe and well-tolerated. Treatments should be tailored to each patient, and future studies are warranted to explore treatment-effect heterogeneity and whether different compositions or doses of ORS can improve absorption and nutritional status in patients with an ileostomy.

CLINICALTRIALS

GOV STUDY IDENTIFIER

NCT04141826.

Short bowel syndrome: treatment options

Introduction Short bowel syndrome (SBS) refers to the malabsorptive state that occurs following extensive intestinal resection and is associated with several complications.

Methods The research for this review was conducted in the Pubmed database. Relevant scientific articles dated between 1991 and 2015 and written in Portuguese, Spanish or English were selected.

Results Several therapies, including nutritional support, pharmacological options and surgical procedures have been used in these patients.

Conclusions Over the last decades new surgical and pharmacological approaches emerged, increasing survival and quality of life (QoL) in patients with SBS. All SBS patients ought to have an individualized and multidisciplinary care that promotes intestinal rehabilitation.

Nutritional Therapy in Adult Short Bowel Syndrome Patients with Chronic Intestinal Failure

Intestinal failure (IF) is the reduction of gut function below the minimum necessary for the absorption of macronutrients and/or water and electrolytes, such that parenteral support (PS) is required to maintain health and/or growth. This article critically revises the gaps in and evidence for providing general nutritional therapy recommendations in the Short Bowel Syndrome-IF population. It addresses the need for an individualized approach, aiming to reduce or even eliminate the need for PS, and emphasizes a need to focus on effects of dietary interventions on the quality of life of these patients.

Pharmacologic options for intestinal rehabilitation in patients with short bowel syndrome

A primary goal of intestinal rehabilitation programs is to facilitate intestinal adaptation. Adult patients with short bowel syndrome (SBS) who are dependent on parenteral nutrition and/or intravenous fluid (PN/IV) support have 2 hormonal pharmacologic treatment options available that may promote intestinal growth: a glucagon-like peptide 2 analog (teduglutide) and recombinant human growth hormone (somatropin). In two phase III clinical trials (N=169), 24 weeks of teduglutide administered to outpatients with SBS resulted in significant decreases in PN/IV volume requirements of 2.5-4.4 L/wk. In an extension study of one of these trials, patients with SBS who completed 30 months of teduglutide experienced a mean PN/IV reduction of 7.6 L/wk from baseline. Furthermore, some patients achieved independence from PN/IV support. The most common adverse events associated with teduglutide treatment in clinical trials were gastrointestinal symptoms, including abdominal distension, abdominal pain, and nausea. This safety profile is consistent with the associated underlying diseases leading to SBS or the known mechanism of action of teduglutide. A single phase III study (N=41) evaluated the safety and efficacy of a 4-week inpatient course of somatropin in combination with a glutamine-supplemented diet for adults with SBS. Somatropin treatment significantly reduced parenteral support requirements by 1.1 L/d in these patients. The most common adverse events were peripheral edema and musculoskeletal events. Large-scale, long-term follow-up studies of somatropin for SBS have not been conducted. Although treatment for patients with SBS must be individualized, teduglutide and somatropin are positive extensions to existing fluid and nutrient management strategies.

New approaches to the treatments of short bowel syndrome-associated intestinal failure

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Teduglutide, a recombinant analog of human glucagon-like peptide 2, has recently been approved in the US and Europe (Gattex and Revestive, respectively) as the first targeted treatment of short bowel syndrome-associated intestinal failure (SBS-IF). Glucagon-like peptide 2 improves structural and functional intestinal adaptation following intestinal resection by decelerating a rapid gastric emptying, by decreasing gastric hypersecretion, by increasing intestinal blood flow and by promoting intestinal growth. This review summarizes the findings from phase 2 and 3 studies preceding the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency approval of subcutaneous teduglutide for this orphan condition.

RECENT FINDINGS

In a 3-week, phase 2, metabolic balance study, teduglutide increased intestinal wet weight absorption by approximately 700 g/day and reduced fecal energy losses by approximately 0.8 MJ/day (∼200 kcal/day). In two subsequent 24-week, phase 3 studies, teduglutide reduced the need for parenteral support in the same magnitude. Teduglutide had an acceptable tolerability profile, where adverse events generally were of gastrointestinal origin consistent with the known mechanism of action.

SUMMARY

Teduglutide will add incremental benefit to the limited medical treatment armamentarium in SBS patients by maximizing intestinal absorption, decreasing fecal losses, thereby decreasing or even eliminating the need for parenteral support. Future research should target and implement other key hormones with similar and possible additive or synergistic effects, thereby further promoting structural and functional adaptation and intestinal rehabilitation in these severely disabled SBS patients.

Spectrum of short bowel syndrome in adults: intestinal insufficiency to intestinal failure

Short bowel syndrome (SBS) refers to the malabsorptive state caused by physical or functional loss of portions of the small intestine, most commonly following extensive intestinal resection. Such resections hinder absorption of adequate amounts of macronutrients, micronutrients, electrolytes, and water, resulting in malnutrition, diarrhea, and dehydration. Clinical features of SBS vary along a continuum, depending on the extent and anatomy of intestine lost and the ability of the patient and the remaining intestine to compensate for the loss. The impact of SBS can be extensive, leading to diminished health-related quality of life because of its many physical and psychological effects on patients. SBS is associated with decreased survival; risk factors for SBS-related mortality include very short remnant small bowel, end-jejunal remnant anatomy, and arterial mesenteric infarction as primary cause. Although parenteral nutrition and/or intravenous fluid (PN/IV) is a life-saving measure for many patients with SBS, patients with the most severe malabsorption (ie, dependent on PN/IV) are at risk for severe, chronic complications and death. Patients' treatment needs vary depending on disease severity and resection type; thus, each patient should be individually managed. This review discusses the spectrum of disease in patients with SBS and presents common complications encountered by these patients to highlight the importance of individualized management and treatment.

Modern treatment of short bowel syndrome

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Recently, the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency approved the glucagon-like peptide 2 analogue, teduglutide, for the treatment of short bowel syndrome (SBS), and this review describes the physiological basis for its clinical use.

RECENT FINDINGS

By affecting the intestinal neuroendocrine system, hormones may promote the growth of the intestinal mucosa, restore a more normal gastric emptying and secretion, stimulate intestinal blood flow, increase intestinal barrier function, immunity and absorption, and thereby promote structural and functional adaptation following intestinal resection. In a 3-week, phase 2, metabolic balance study, teduglutide increased intestinal wet weight absorption by ∼700 g/day and reduced faecal energy losses by ∼0.8 MJ/day. In two subsequent 24-week, phase 3 studies in SBS patients with intestinal failure (SBS-IF), teduglutide reduced the need for parenteral support in the same magnitude.

SUMMARY

Teduglutide adds incremental benefit to the limited medical treatment armamentarium in SBS patients. Modern treatments should aim to maximize remnant intestinal absorption, decrease malabsorption and accompanying symptoms, reduce the need, burdens and complications related to parenteral support, and ultimately improve the health-related quality of life in SBS-IF patients. Future research should target and implement other key hormones with similar effects, thereby promoting intestinal adaptation and rehabilitation in SBS patients.