Background: Home parenteral nutrition (HPN) is the standard treatment for severe intestinal failure in the United Kingdom.
Aim: To review long-term survival and ongoing HPN dependence of patients receiving HPN treated at a specialist UK referral centre.
Methods: Medical records of patients commenced on HPN between 1979 and 2003 were reviewed retrospectively. Regression analysis was employed to identify factors associated with poor prognosis.
Results: Case notes of 188 patients were reviewed. Overall probability of survival was 86%, 77%, 73% and 71% at 1, 3, 5 and 10 years after starting treatment. In multivariate analysis, association was seen between mechanism of intestinal failure and survival: short bowel syndrome associated with a favourable prognosis, and intestinal dysfunction, dysmotility and obstruction with poorer prognoses. There was an association between increasing age and poor prognosis, but increased mortality was also seen in the youngest age groups. Only 9% of deaths were due to complications of HPN. Continued HPN dependence was 89%, 87%, 84% and 84% at 1, 3, 5 and 10 years in survivors.
Conclusions: Long-term survival of patients receiving HPN remains better than that reported after intestinal transplantation. Mortality predominantly relates to underlying disease rather than complications of HPN.