Prospective survey of parenteral nutrition in Switzerland: a three-year nation-wide survey.
OBJECTIVE
The goals of this national survey were to determine the current PN practices and admixture formulations used in Switzerland.


METHODS
During three years, an annual questionnaire was sent to all heads of Swiss hospital pharmacies.


RESULTS
92% of Swiss hospitals with a full-time pharmacist participated. Different PN systems were commonly used for adult patients: 2 commercial formulas in 2 or 3 compartments bags, 2 commercial formulas with/without lipid, 3 formulas compounded by the hospital pharmacy. For hospitalized adults, 83% of PN bags were administered as commercial multicompartment bags. The compounding of individualized PN admixtures takes place primarily in pharmacies of medium to large size hospitals. For pediatric PN, hospital compounding is routine because of individualized PN compositions and absence of commercially available standardized admixtures. Long-term home-PN was mostly delivered by hospital pharmacies (57%) or by private nutrition support home delivery services (37%). Most PN formula compositions complied with European guidelines and represented 2.6+/-2.0% of the hospital drug budget. Multi-disciplinary nutritional support teams were present in 52% of hospitals.


CONCLUSIONS
In Switzerland, most PN for hospitalized adults were administered as commercial multi-compartment bags. The compounding of individualized PN admixtures were still important for pediatric patients and long-term home-PN.
Pichard
C
C
Clinical Nutrition, Geneva University Hospital.
Mühlebach
S
S
Maisonneuve
N
N
Sierro
C
C
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D004034:Diet Surveys; D004339:Drug Compounding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008510:Medication Systems, Hospital; D010288:Parenteral Nutrition / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010348:Patient Care Team; D010607:Pharmacy Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013557:Switzerland