title: Home artificial nutrition: an update seven years after the regional regulation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Home Artificial Nutrition (HAN) is a well established extra-hospital therapy, contributing to decreased health care costs, by reducing the number and length of hospitalizations. The knowledge of the epidemiology of HAN helps plan health-care funding and in analyze the factors that can improve HAN service.
  
  
  METHODS
  An update on the prevalence of Home Artificial Nutrition (HAN) in the Campania region (Southern Italy) and patients clinical characteristics has been regularly carried out in the past seven years after a specific regional regulation issued in 2005.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Total number of patients on HAN has increased from 355 in April 2005 to 1165 in April 2012 (+228.2%); in particular, patients on Home Parenteral Nutrition (HPN) increased from 156 in April 2005 to 306 in April 2012 (+96.2%) and patients on Home Enteral Nutrition (HEN) from 199 to 838 (+321.1%) respectively. HEN/HPN ratio in adults has changed from 1.3/1 in April 2005 to 2.7/1 in April 2012, gradually nearing the expected national mean ratio of 5/1 as observed in the 2005 national survey.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The specific regional regulation in Campania has contributed to increase the prescription of HAN and to ameliorate its indications; in particular, through the years, HEN is gradually nearing national standards.
authors.affiliation: Regional Coordinator Center, Internal Medicine and Clinical Nutrition Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University Hospital, Naples, Italy. Electronic address: lidia.santarpia@unina.it.
authors.forename: Lidia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Santarpia
authors.affiliation: Regional Coordinator Center, Internal Medicine and Clinical Nutrition Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University Hospital, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Carmen
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Pagano
authors.affiliation: Regional Coordinator Center, Internal Medicine and Clinical Nutrition Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University Hospital, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pasanisi
authors.affiliation: Regional Coordinator Center, Internal Medicine and Clinical Nutrition Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University Hospital, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Contaldo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004750:Enteral Nutrition / Q000379:methods*; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007410:Intestinal Diseases / Q000628:therapy; D007558:Italy; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000628:therapy; D009752:Nutritional Status; D016331:Parenteral Nutrition, Home / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Enteral nutrition; Home artificial nutrition; Parenteral nutrition