[The limits of the Nutrition Committee in applying parenteral nutrition]

In order to assess the benefits of a Nutritional Team in our hospital, the Nutritional Committee made a prospective study concerning the Parenteral Nutrition application between June 8th and July 23rd 1992. We studied 94 patients, mean age 51.5 (0-88). They had 918 nutritional units (20 NU/day) for a mean time of 13.2 days. The main nutritional indication was intestinal pathology (47.9% onco-surgical patients). A Parenteral Nutrition standard type was usually given to patients through a Drum type catheter. Infectious complications reached a 38.5% (13.8% thrombophlebitis). We have performed analytical controls in 83.7% patients, 83.6% of them had pathologic results. The percentage was of deaths 7.5%. After these results, we conclude that there is a need for a specifically trained medical group taking care of the nutritional management of the patients. Thus, we could assure the quality of nutritional therapy.