Current uses and abuses of total parenteral nutrition

Total parenteral nutrition remains a vital medical intervention, and in our institution it is considered as basic as intravenous fluids, antibiotics, and blood transfusions. As is true of most treatments, there are specific indications as well as associated risks and costs which mandate justification of its use. It is clear that the indications for TPN are diminishing as basic science and clinical studies continue to find increased benefits associated with enteral feeding, and as techniques for initiating enteral nutrition improve. Because of unproven benefits and/or increased complication rates, TPN has lost favor in the treatment of conditions that were previously thought to require parenteral alimentation, such as acute pancreatitis, pediatric and adult burns, critical care, and preoperative use in patients with mild or moderate malnutrition. Despite diminishing indications, TPN continues to generate excitement in some areas as its immunological effects become better defined. The use of TPN in patients with cancer before certain therapies, as well as in the transplant population, remains hopeful. New uses of TPN will result from a better understanding of the cellular and molecular effects of parenteral feeding. In the future, TPN may well be used as a pharmacologic agent rather than as nutritional intervention.