Home parenteral nutrition improves the patient’s quality of life

Parenteral nutrition in the home environment considerably simplifies life for patients. This is the administration of nutrients, liquids, minerals, vitamins and trace elements directly into the bloodstream through central venous access. Klaudián Hospital in Mladá Boleslav is the first medical facility in the Central Bohemia Region to make this treatment available to its patients.

‘When administered in one’s own social environment, it is called home parenteral nutrition. It is indicated in patients who – for some reason – are unable to receive food orally or by an enteral route, i.e. nutrition administered by tube or through direct access to the gastrointestinal tract,’ explains Martin Polák, the Head of the Department of Internal Medicine of Mladá Boleslav Hospital.

Application is possible only if necessary conditions are met

For the application of parenteral nutrition in the patient’s own social environment, it is crucial to tackle not only the medical aspect, but also the logistic and technical aspects. The solutions are delivered in the form of bags, which the patients change and apply themselves using a special pump. Home parenteral nutrition is usually administered every day for 12 hours or longer. The patient should, however, be able to move around freely – both at night and during the day – to participate in social interactions, to attend their work or school and to pursue their hobbies and interests.

‘All of this greatly enhances the patient’s quality of life and that of the whole family. No less significant is the reduced need for hospitalisation,’ emphasises Dr Polák. All the patients receiving parenteral nutrition in their home environment are monitored by doctors and can contact responsible healthcare professionals anytime – this helps them to solve problems related to the administration of parenteral nutrition. Modern technologies also enable on-line monitoring in order to follow up ongoing therapy.

Home parenteral nutrition prevents hospitalisation

The group of patients who can receive home parenteral nutrition is very diverse. The most common indications for home parenteral nutrition are, for example, short bowel syndrome (following the removal of a portion of the intestine), cancer patients who cannot receive enteral nutrition (e.g. after stomach surgery), postoperative conditions in the gastrointestinal tract with fistulas, malabsorption syndrome (inability to absorb water and nutrients), gastrointestinal obstruction, severe malnutrition (including anorexia nervosa), some neurological diseases and swallowing disorders (in cases when PEG cannot be placed).

Until now, patients from the Mladá Boleslav area had to attend centres at faculty hospitals. In the week starting 20 July, this type of nutrition was applied to the first patient in Mladá Boleslav, thanks in particular to the support of a professional association. The administration of parenteral nutrition for the patient is going to be carried out by healthcare professionals from the Clinical Nutrition Centre and the Venous Access Centre from the Department of Internal Medicine in Klaudián Hospital.

‘Thanks to the understanding and the support of the hospital management, we have managed to receive a highly sophisticated infusion pump in an incredibly short period. The pump complies with the most demanding patient needs and enhances not only the patient’s state of health, but also her quality of life, without the need for hospitalisation,’ sums up Dr Polák.

Slovníček

considerably – významně, značně
to simplify – zjednodušit
trace elements – stopové prvky
tube – sonda, hadice, hadička
Head of the Department of Internal Medicine – primář oddělení interní medicíny
crucial – stěžejní; kritický, rozhodující
to tackle – vypořádat se
to pursue – vykonávat, provádět; usilovat; sledovat; pronásledovat, honit
to emphasise – zdůraznit, zdůrazňovat, podtrhnout
ongoing – probíhající, současný, aktuální; pokračující
diverse – rozmanitý, různorodý; různý
to sum up – shrnout, zrekapitulovat

 

 

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