1.0 FORMULATION OF GUIDELINES
1.1 Aim
These guidelines aim to help clinicians manage
patients who have had an intestinal resection
that leaves a short length (about 2 m or less) of
small bowel remaining.
1.2 Development
The preliminary guidelines were compiled from
the literature and a first document was drafted
by Dr J Nightingale and modified by members of
the Small Bowel and Nutrition Committee under
the chairmanship of Dr B Jones. A section on
‘‘intestinal transplantation’’ was written by Dr
Woodward and added with the approval of the
Small Bowel and Nutrition Committee. The
resulting document was shown to clinicians at
the intestinal units of Hope and St Mark’s
Hospitals. Professor A Forbes made recommendations,
which have been incorporated. The
article was reviewed by the patient organisation
PINNT (patients on intravenous or nasogastric
nutritional therapy) and modifications made to
result in the current document.
The guidelines conform to the North of
England evidence based guidelines development
project.1 The grading of each recommendation is
dependant on the category of evidence supporting
it.
Recommendations based on the level of
evidence are presented and graded as:
N A: requires at least one randomised controlled
trial of good quality addressing the topic of
recommendation (evidence categories Ia and
Ib);
N B: requires the availability of clinical studies
without randomisation on the topic of recommendation
(evidence categories IIa, IIb and
III); and
N C: requires evidence from expert committee
reports or opinions or clinical experience of
respected authorities in the absence of directly
applicable clinical studies of good quality
(evidence category IV).
1.3 Scheduled review
The content and evidence base for these guidelines
should be reviewed within five years of
publication. We recommend that these guidelines
are audited and request feedback from all
users.
1.4 Service delivery
Patients with a short bowel are not common but
should be managed by a multidisciplinary team
headed by a clinician with expertise in managing
these patients. If managed appropriately, there
may be an improved quality of safe care and also
considerable cost savings. On occasions, patients
thought to need long term parenteral nutrition
may be weaned from it with appropriate advice.
As patients (particularly with a short bowel
and jejunostomy) may rapidly become dehydrated
or septic (if having parenteral nutrition),
they and indeed any patient needing artificial
nutritional support should have rapid access to
medical expertise (advice, clinics, or inpatient
treatment).
1.5 Patients’ experience
N Patients with a short bowel should each be
managed as an individual; they are all
different in diagnosis, remaining bowel
length/function, and psychosocial characteristics.
N Patients will become experts in coping with
their condition and management. All decisions
should all be made in conjunction with
them. They are often more knowledgeable
about their condition than the clinicians,
nurses, and dieticians, and this should be
respected.
N Facilities for looking after these patients
should be able to deal with the physical,
emotional, psychological, social, and quality
of life issues.
N Techniques needed for home parenteral nutrition
should be taught by competent, patient,
and keen staff who can convey the confidence
required to undertake the therapy successfully
and safely.
N Patients need to know that the aseptic
technique for parenteral nutrition will be used
whenever their feeding line is accessed, which
is vital for safety and peace of mind.
N Patients should be referred rapidly to places of
expertise if management is difficult or unsuccessful.
There should be clinicians, specialist
nurses, and dieticians available to discuss or
see the patients at all times. Healthcare
professionals should be familiar to the patient
and know their history, thus eliminating the
need for time consuming explanations.
N There should ideally be dedicated beds for
nutrition patients to ensure they are not cared
for by healthcare professionals unfamiliar
with their specialist needs.
N A 24 hour helpline should be in place so that
emergencies are dealt with immediately and
appropriately.
Abbreviations: PINNT, patients on intravenous or
nasogastric nutritional therapy; IF, intestinal failure; GLP-
2, glucagon-like peptide 2
iv1
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Downloaded from gut.bmjjournals.com on 4 August 2006
N Written and audiovisual material may help a patient cope,
as will meeting other patients with similar problems.
N All patients who require home parenteral nutrition,
whether short or long term, should receive information
about the patient support group PINNT.
N Where appropriate, patients should be offered contact
numbers for the relevant support group which represents
their specific disease (for example, National Association
for Colitis and Crohn’s disease (NACC)).
N Follow up appointments should be as deemed appropriate
to the multidisciplinary team and patient, and ideally the
patient should not have to travel long distances for expert
care. The appointment should be with experienced and
familiar staff, thus enabling continuity of care.
N Staff should be aware of the latest research and developments
and should make patients aware of any which may
apply to them.
2.0 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
2.1 Aims of treatment in patients with a short bowel
N To provide the nutrition, water, and electrolytes necessary
to maintain health, with normal body weight or growth.
N To use oral/enteral nutrition in preference to parenteral
nutrition whenever the gut is functional and can absorb
sufficient nutrients, water, and electrolytes.
N To reduce the complications resulting from the underlying
disease, intestinal failure, and/or nutritional/fluid support.
N To achieve a good quality of life.
2.2 Patients with a short bowel and an intact ileum
and colon rarely need long term enteral or parenteral
nutrition.
2.3 Patients with a short bowel (due to loss of ileum)
and a retained functional colon
Gradual undernutrition dominates the clinical picture. Due to
adaptation, nutritional requirements may reduce with time.
N May need parenteral nutrition if less than 50 cm small
intestine remains (grade B).
N Need a high carbohydrate low oxalate diet. The volume of
food may increase diarrhoea (grade A).
2.4 Patients with a jejunostomy
Fluid and electrolyte losses dominate the clinical picture.
Adaptation does not occur so nutritional and fluid requirements
do not reduce with time.
N If less than 100 cm of jejunum remains, parenteral saline,
and if less than 75 cm, parenteral nutrition and saline are
likely to be needed in the long term (grade B).
N If less than 200 cm of jejunum remains, oral hypotonic
fluids may need to be restricted and a glucose-saline
supplement (sodium concentration of about 100 mmol/l
approximating to the concentration in jejunostomy fluid)
is sipped to reduce stomal losses of sodium (grade B).
N Hypomagnesaemia is common and is treated by correcting
sodium depletion, oral or intravenous magnesium supplements,
and occasionally with oral 1 alpha hydroxycholecalciferol
(grade C).
N Jejunal output may be further reduced by drugs that
reduce motility (loperamide) or, if the bowel is very short
(less than 100 cm), drugs that reduce gastric acid
secretion (H2 antagonists, proton pump inhibitors, or
somatostatin analogues) (grade B).
Bowel length measurements are from the duodenojejunal
flexure and can be made at surgery or with the use of an
opisiometer2 3 tracing out the long axis of the bowel on a
contrast study that shows all of the remaining small bowel.
2.5 Patients with irreversible intestinal failure
expected to die prematurely on parenteral nutrition
should be referred for consideration of intestinal
transplantation where appropriate