Pathophysiology, clinical signs and treatment of short-bowel syndrome

Short-bowel syndrome is a rare problem in surgical practice and its prognosis depends on the length of intestinal remnants and/or the presence of a jejunostomy. In adults long-term total parenteral nutrition (TPN) can be avoided if the remaining small bowel is longer than 60-100 cm. In all, 50-60% of patients in the long-term follow-up are expected to be adequately nourished with oral feeding, 25% with enteral and parenteral feeding and less than 20% depend on long-term TPN alone. By using a modified diet (glutamine, growth hormone), intestinal absorption and overall prognosis could even be enhanced. The introduction of home TPN by specialized centres has resulted in a remarkable improvement in quality of life (> 80% good). The main complications of long-term TPN are sepsis, thrombosis and metabolic disorders. Medical therapy of diarrhoea consists of H-2-receptor antagonists (hypergastrinaemia), loperamide and secretion inhibitors (somatostatin). Several surgical procedures have been performed, either to decelerate intestinal transit or to increase the area of intestinal absorption with overall unsatisfactory results. However, in the presence of small-bowel dilatation, promising surgical results (tapering, stricturoplasty, intestinal lengthening) have been achieved. There may be advances (immunosuppression) in the future that will make intestinal transplantation a good option for some patients; at present, the 1-year patient and graft survival in around 100 patients was 60% and 40%, respectively.