ABSTRACT
Intestinal failure (IF) is a functional diagnosis that encompasses a spectrum of disease states in which the end result is dependence on parenteral nutrition (PN). In the pediatric population, the management of the patient with IF is challenging and requires assessment of an infant’s or child’s growth, development, bowel adaptation, nutritional status, psychosocial well-being, and any complications of IF and/or PN therapy. The clinical assessment of the pediatric patient with IF must take into account an understanding of the patient’s underlying disease, anthropometric and biochemical evaluation of nutritional status, and recognition of the important complications of IF and PN that limit survival and stratify prognosis in the pediatric patient.
