Long-term outcome of children receiving home parenteral nutrition: a 20-year single-center experience in 302 patients

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.This retrospective study included children who started receiving HPN between January 1, 1980, and December 31, 1999, in a single pediatric HPN center.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.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.