Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here to sign up for SAGE Journal Email Alerts today!
Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Fan, B.-G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Fan, B.-G.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?

Original Communications

Parenteral Nutrition Prolongs the Survival of Patients Associated With Malignant Gastrointestinal Obstruction

Bo-Guang Fan, MD, PhD

From the Department of Surgery, Wenzhou Medical College, Taizhou Hospital, Zhejiang, China

Correspondence: Bo-Guang Fan, MD, PhD, Department of Surgery, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Taizhou Linhai, Zhejiang Province, China. Electronic mail may be sent to fanboguang{at}gmail.com.

Background: Many patients with advanced cancers have associated gastrointestinal (GI) obstruction. Parenteral nutrition (PN) is indicated in patients with a dysfunctional GI tract, but the role of PN in patients' survival is still controversial. The present study was retrospectively conducted to verify if there are any long-term survivors living for more than 1 year after initiation of PN without food or drink in patients with malignant GI tract obstruction resulting from advanced cancers. Methods: One hundred fifteen adult patients with malignant GI obstruction were identified over a 6-year period at a palliative-care setting. Their median age was 51 years (range, 31–74 years), and 62 (54%) were women and 53 men (46%). All selected patients had malignant GI tract obstruction and started PN treatment after cessation of energy intake to time of death. Survival expectancy as a criterion was analyzed in all patients. Results: The median time from initiation of PN to death was 6.5 months. Eleven patients survived ≥1 year and 2 patients have been alive for almost 4 years later after cessation of energy intake. Conclusions: PN can be expected to obtain a longer survival for the patient with GI tract obstruction caused by advanced cancer.

Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, Vol. 31, No. 6, 508-510 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0148607107031006508
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?