Transition of Decade in Short Bowel Syndrome in China: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Short bowel syndrome (SBS) patients need long-term parenteral nutrition or intestine transplantation. With the development of medicine, society, and economy over the past decade, characteristics of these patients might have undergone some changes. To study the issue, we conducted this retrospective study.

A retrospective study was conducted from January 1, 2004, to January 1, 2014, in an intestinal rehabilitation and transplant center. A total of 335 SBS patients were hospitalized at our center. The patients in the 1st 5 years were classified into group A (n = 123) and the next 5 years into group B (n = 212). Demographic data, medical history, and etiology of each patient were collected.

The average age of group B (45.5 ± 20.5 y) was significantly higher than that of group A (39.6 ± 15.5 y). In both groups together, the average residual small intestine was 63.3 ± 44.3 cm and body mass index (BMI) was 18.1 ± 3.6 kg/m(2). The BMI of group B was significantly higher than that of group A. In serum biochemical indexes, indirect bilirubin, serum transferrin, fibronectin, cholesterol, blood urea nitrogen, and creatinine of the 2 groups were significantly different. In the etiology of SBS, the mesenteric vascular disease and trauma decreased but radiation enteritis and nonterminal cancer increased.

During the past decade, SBS patients had changed a lot, especially in etiology and nutritional status. In the future, the increasing number of nonterminal cancer and radiation enteritis patients might compromise the choice of intestine transplantation, and more new methods to prevent cholestasis need to be explored.