[NUTRITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT OF SHORT BOWEL SYNDROME]

Few conditions pose as great a challenge, in terms of long term nutritional care, as short bowel syndrome (SBS). Despite the complexity of care which children with SBS require, the great improvement in the prognosis and outcome over the past few decades can be attributed, in great measure, to advancements in both parenteral and enteral nutrition support. Most children can maintain normal growth and development while intestinal adaptation occurs, and ultimately achieve independence from parenteral nutrition. This review focuses on the nutritional consequences of severe malabsorption clinical problems which influence nutritional status, and parenteral and enteral nutritional recommendations. The importance of aggressive and persistant efforts with enteral feeding as a primary therapy to enhance bowel adaptation and tominimize complications is emphasized.