[Rehabilitation therapy for short bowel syndrome].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effect of rehabilitation therapy for short bowel syndrome on patients' nutritional status and intestinal adaptation.


METHODS
Twenty seven patients with short bowel syndrome with the average age of 38.5 +/- 19.3 years, the residual small intestine of the length of 15 to 80 cm, ileocecal valve being preserved in 15 cases, and an average time between the onset of short bowel syndrome and rehabilitation therapy of 86 +/- 105 d received 29 courses of rehabilitation therapy including enteral or parenteral nutrition, glutamine, recombinant human growth hormone and rehabilitation diet from January 1997 to July 2000.


RESULTS
After the treatment, the patients' nutritional status improved markedly, their intestinal absorptive capacity improved too. Eight patients were followed up for more than 2 y, 4 of them (50%) had weaned from total parenteral nutrition. Thirteen patients were followed up for more than 1 y, 10 of them (76.9%) had weaned from total parenteral nutrition.


CONCLUSIONS
Rehabilitation therapy for short bowel syndrome improves patients' nutritional status effectively and promote intestinal adaptation. Early initiation of rehabilitation therapy promotes intestinal adaptation, and increases patients' liability to wean from total parenteral nutrition.
Zhu
W
W
Department of General Surgery, Jinling Hospital, Clinical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing 210002, China.
Li
N
N
Ren
J
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005973:Glutamine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012778:Short Bowel Syndrome / Q000534:rehabilitation*
D004043:Dietary Fiber; D005973:Glutamine; D013006:Growth Hormone