Background: More information is needed regarding the prognosis of children receiving home parenteral nutrition (HPN). This article describes 20-year outcome data in children receiving HPN and provides separate profiles for the major pediatric diagnostic subgroups.
Patients and methods: This retrospective study included children who started receiving HPN between January 1, 1980, and December 31, 1999, in a single pediatric HPN center.
Results: A total of 302 children were recruited, 230 (76%) with primary digestive disorders and 72 (24%) with nonprimary digestive disorders. Median age at HPN onset was 1.5 years. Median duration of HPN was 1.3 years. By January 1, 2000, 54% had weaned from HPN, 26% were still receiving HPN, 16% had died, and 4% had undergone intestinal transplantation. The survival probabilities at 2, 5, 10, and 15 years were 97%, 89%, 81%, and 72%, respectively. The likelihood and cause of death depended on the underlying diagnosis. Nine percent of children with primary digestive disorders died, 24% from their primary disease and 48% from liver disease or sepsis. Children with intractable diarrhea of infancy had the highest mortality rate (25%) and the highest incidence of liver disease (48%; P = 0.0002). Thirty-eight percent of children with primary nondigestive diseases died, 94% from their primary disease and 6% from liver disease or sepsis.
Conclusions: Outcome and survival of children receiving HPN are mainly determined by their underlying diagnosis. Nearly all children with primary digestive disease survive if referred early to an expert center.