Medication delivery in the short-bowel syndrome

Technologic advances such as total parenteral nutrition have prolonged the lives of individuals with short-bowel syndrome who previously would not have survived. However, the day-to-day management of these patients presents a significant challenge to those who take care of them. Providing medications on either an acute or chronic basis without the use of their central catheters is a difficult clinical problem. This article reviews the approach and methods of treating short-bowel patients on the basis of their individual circumstances and physiology.