Paul Wales
1343 statements · 13 topics
Abdominal Wall Defects
· guest expert
Colorectal / ARM & Hirschsprung
· guest expert
Etiologies (Gastroschisis/NEC/Atresia/Volvulus)
· guest expert
Intestinal Failure
· guest expert
Intestinal Rehab
· guest expert
Motility / Pseudo-obstruction
· guest expert
Short Bowel Syndrome
· guest expert
Featured statements
One thing I just want to say about oral feeding is that even in the scenario where it's really non-nutritive. I think it's important for people to sort of look at that oral feeding, not so much as an internal nutrition perspective, but more of a skill development perspective that they never learn how to eat by mouth and suck and swallow and process, then they won't eat solids later when you want them to, and you're stuck basically with tube feeding on an older child.
quote ·
Intestinal Failure
You're right, and they're not isocaloric, and so 1 mL of PN is not 1 mL of formula. So if you keep going beyond 100 per kilo or 120 per kilo, you, you have a problem. And kids, not only will they take a calorie protein hit, they'll take, you start to get into problems with sodium and calcium as well, because the composition in the milk is not the same as what's in the parental solution.
quote ·
Intestinal Failure
So, um, an intestinal rehabilitation program, as we defined also in these Aspen guidelines that just came out, is a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of Their specialized nutrition and other associated needs that they have.
quote ·
Abdominal Wall Defects
There's literature that shows the improvement of outcomes with programs in general. You see an improved survival related to liver dysfunction, decreased septic episodes, reduction in central line complications, reduced ICU admissions, and the patients that were listed for transplant are coming off the list because of improved status. Mortality has gone down.
quote ·
Crohn's Disease
In short bowel syndrome, we have 3 anatomical subtypes. Type 1 is the high L piginostomy. Type 2, where you've lost your distal small bowel, your ileum, and part of your colon, and there's a small bowel colonic anastomosis. And then type 3 where you've lost the mid-part of your small bowel, but you still have some retained ileum and an intact colon.
quote ·
Crohn's Disease
It it's, it's really a functional problem. Essentially, when someone's gut for whatever the diagnosis, whatever the reason, their gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, calories to support survival and in the in the case of children, growth, which is a big distinction between adults and children.
quote ·
Abdominal Wall Defects
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Paul's statements about Abdominal Wall Defects 40 statements
Open the Abdominal Wall Defects collection →
Intestinal rehabilitation: What is intestinal rehab? - Episode 1
Quotation
Well, let's go back one step before that and sort of define what is intestinal failure because that sort of leads into who's going to benefit from an intestinal rehab program.
Open
Statement
Intestinal failure is when gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, and calories to support survival and, in children, growth.
Open
Quotation
It it's, it's really a functional problem. Essentially, when someone's gut for whatever the diagnosis, whatever the reason, their gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, calories to support survival and in the in the case of children, growth, which is a big distinction between adults and children.
Open
Quotation
So, um, an intestinal rehabilitation program, as we defined also in these Aspen guidelines that just came out, is a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of Their specialized nutrition and other associated needs that they have.
Open
Statement
An intestinal rehabilitation program is a multidisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of their specialized nutrition and other associated needs, as defined in recent ASPEN guidelines.
Open
Statement
The intestinal rehabilitation approach streamlines care and improves communication with families and between care providers.
Open
Quotation
Patients that are gonna come to intestinal rehab program have intestinal failure, and we can divide the causes of intestinal failure into three categories.
Open
Statement
Causes of intestinal failure divide into three categories: short bowel syndrome, motility disorders, and congenital enteropathies.
Open
Statement
Short bowel syndrome is by far the most common category of intestinal failure in pediatric patients.
Open
Quotation
There's short bowel syndrome, which by far is the most common category in pediatric patients with intestinal failure, and causes of short bowel syndrome are usually related to diagnoses of or, or disorders of the neonate.
Open
Statement
Causes of short bowel syndrome include congenital anomalies (intestinal atresia, malrotation, volvulus, gastroschisis, long segment Hirschsprung disease) and acquired neonatal diseases (necrotizing enterocolitis).
Open
Quotation
So if we think of the intestine like a pipe, and that pipe is made of muscle that contracts in a coordinated way to push food and stool from one end to the other, you can have abnormalities of the muscle itself, or of the nerves that control that muscle. And the bowel is unable to push things through in a coordinated way.
Open
Statement
Motility disorders occur when abnormalities of intestinal muscle or the nerves controlling that muscle prevent coordinated propulsion of food and stool.
Open
Statement
Congenital enteropathies are conditions where patients have all their bowel but the mucosal lining does not digest or absorb properly.
Open
Quotation
Enteropathies or the congenital diarrheas, and these are conditions where the patient has all of their bowel, but the mucosa, the inside lining that, that absorbs, uh, digests and absorbs doesn't work.
Open
Quotation
The reason it's important to at least identify these three categories is that some patients will have elements of 12, or 3 of the categories, the way they present.
Open
Statement
Some patients have elements of two or all three categories of intestinal failure in their presentation.
Open
Statement
Most intestinal failure patients are infants or babies, but some older pediatric patients develop intestinal failure from inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn disease complications, trauma, malignancy, or vascular thrombosis.
Open
Statement
Long-term survivors now develop chronic comorbidities not previously seen to the same extent because patients did not live long enough, including renal dysfunction, metabolic bone disease, neurocognitive issues, and quality of life problems.
Open
Quotation
But now what we're seeing is we have kids that have developed chronic comorbidities, that comorbidities that never, we didn't really see to the same extent because they didn't live long enough.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 1: What is intestinal rehabilitation?
Quotation
Well, let's go back one step before that and sort of define what is intestinal failure because that sort of leads into who's going to benefit from an intestinal rehab program.
Open
Statement
Intestinal failure is a functional problem where gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, and calories to support survival and, in children, growth.
Open
Quotation
It it's, it's really a functional problem. Essentially, when someone's gut for whatever the diagnosis, whatever the reason, their gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, calories to support survival and in the in the case of children, growth, which is a big distinction between adults and children.
Open
Quotation
So, um, an intestinal rehabilitation program, as we defined also in these Aspen guidelines that just came out, is a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of Their specialized nutrition and other associated needs that they have.
Open
Statement
An intestinal rehabilitation program is a multidisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of their specialized nutrition and other associated needs, as defined in recent ASPEN guidelines.
Open
Statement
Intestinal rehabilitation streamlines care and improves communication between family and care providers through an amalgamation of experts providing holistic, comprehensive, coordinated care.
Open
Quotation
Patients that are gonna come to intestinal rehab program have intestinal failure, and we can divide the causes of intestinal failure into three categories.
Open
Quotation
There's short bowel syndrome, which by far is the most common category in pediatric patients with intestinal failure, and causes of short bowel syndrome are usually related to diagnoses of or, or disorders of the neonate.
Open
Statement
Short bowel syndrome is by far the most common category of intestinal failure in pediatric patients.
Open
Statement
Causes of short bowel syndrome are usually related to neonatal disorders including congenital anomalies (intestinal atresia, malrotation, volvulus, gastroschisis, long segment Hirschsprung disease) or acquired diseases (necrotizing enterocolitis).
Open
Statement
Motility disorders occur when abnormalities of the intestinal muscle itself or the nerves controlling that muscle prevent coordinated propulsion of food and stool, making patients dependent on intravenous support.
Open
Quotation
So if we think of the intestine like a pipe, and that pipe is made of muscle that contracts in a coordinated way to push food and stool from one end to the other, you can have abnormalities of the muscle itself, or of the nerves that control that muscle. And the bowel is unable to push things through in a coordinated way.
Open
Quotation
Enteropathies or the congenital diarrheas, and these are conditions where the patient has all of their bowel, but the mucosa, the inside lining that, that absorbs, uh, digests and absorbs doesn't work.
Open
Statement
Enteropathies or congenital diarrheas are conditions where the patient has all of their bowel but the mucosal lining that digests and absorbs does not work, leading to hypersecretion and profuse fluid losses.
Open
Statement
Some patients will have elements of two or all three categories of intestinal failure; for example, gastroschisis can involve short bowel, inflammation affecting absorption, and motility issues.
Open
Statement
Although most intestinal failure patients are infants or babies, older pediatric patients can develop intestinal failure from inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease complications, trauma, malignancy, or vascular thrombosis leading to gut loss.
Open
Statement
Improved survival has revealed chronic comorbidities not previously seen to the same extent because patients did not live long enough, including renal dysfunction, metabolic bone disease, neurocognitive issues, and quality of life concerns.
Open
Paul's statements about Cholestasis 19 statements
Open the Cholestasis collection →
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 6: Cholestasis
Statement
Cincinnati Children's Hospital institutionally defined cholestasis as conjugated bilirubin greater than 3 mg/dL or 50 micromoles/L sustained for 2 weeks and not associated with a septic event.
Open
Quotation
Institutionally defined it as a conjugated bilirubin greater than 3 mg per deciliter or 50 micromoles per liter sustained for 2 weeks and not associated with a septic event.
Open
Statement
A 2021 JPN publication defined cholestasis as conjugated bilirubin around 2 mg/dL or 34 micromoles/L for 2 weeks, not associated with a septic event.
Open
Statement
In young children, intestinal failure-associated liver disease presents as cholestatic liver disease, whereas in adolescents and adults it tends to be steatosis (fatty deposition).
Open
Quotation
Now, prematurity, we as clinicians, as a team, we don't have much control over that. But the other factors are modifiable, and we can have an impact on that.
Open
Statement
Prematurity is not modifiable by the clinical team, but lack of enteral feeding, sepsis, and TPN components are modifiable risk factors.
Open
Statement
Prevention of cholestasis requires aggressive introduction of enteral feeding to establish enterohepatic circulation and surgical procedures to optimize anatomy for feed delivery.
Open
Statement
Two strategies for reversing cholestasis are dose restriction and change of lipid composition.
Open
Statement
Conventional intralipid (soybean-based) produces prostaglandins and eicosanoids that are pro-inflammatory when metabolized.
Open
Statement
SMOF lipid promotes bile flow, is hepatoprotective, and can be delivered at conventional dose to achieve somatic growth and provide neurologic nutrients while protecting the liver.
Open
Statement
SMOF lipid does not contain enough arachidonic acid, so dose restriction of SMOF can lead to essential fatty acid deficiency.
Open
Statement
When SMOF is delivered at conventional dosing, no patients develop essential fatty acid deficiency.
Open
Statement
Conventional dosing for lipids is settling around 2.5 g/kg/day, but nutrition guidelines for preterm infants and babies state 3-4 g/kg/day.
Open
Quotation
My opinion is that a billy of 2 is not by any stretch advanced liver disease, and it's not dangerous, and it's usually transient. So I personally would not change the lipid emulsion out of Billy to.
Open
Statement
A bilirubin of 2 mg/dL is not advanced liver disease, is not dangerous, and is usually transient; Dr. Wales would not change lipid emulsion at this threshold.
Open
Statement
During secondary surgical or autologous reconstruction procedures, a liver biopsy is commonly taken to provide an up-to-date microscopic snapshot.
Open
Statement
Liver function and biochemistry are followed routinely as inpatient and at outpatient clinic visits.
Open
Statement
Elastography (FibroScan) is available for monitoring but is good for mild/no fibrosis or very advanced fibrosis; it is not as sensitive for patients with intermediate fibrosis.
Open
Statement
Follow-up visit frequency for children on TPN at home ranges from every 1-4 months depending on patient stability; actively adapting patients may be seen more frequently due to rapid changes being made.
Open
Paul's statements about Colorectal / ARM & Hirschsprung 40 statements
Open the Colorectal / ARM & Hirschsprung collection →
Intestinal rehabilitation: What is intestinal rehab? - Episode 1
Quotation
Well, let's go back one step before that and sort of define what is intestinal failure because that sort of leads into who's going to benefit from an intestinal rehab program.
Open
Quotation
It it's, it's really a functional problem. Essentially, when someone's gut for whatever the diagnosis, whatever the reason, their gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, calories to support survival and in the in the case of children, growth, which is a big distinction between adults and children.
Open
Statement
Intestinal failure is when gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, and calories to support survival and, in children, growth.
Open
Statement
An intestinal rehabilitation program is a multidisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of their specialized nutrition and other associated needs, as defined in recent ASPEN guidelines.
Open
Quotation
So, um, an intestinal rehabilitation program, as we defined also in these Aspen guidelines that just came out, is a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of Their specialized nutrition and other associated needs that they have.
Open
Statement
The intestinal rehabilitation approach streamlines care and improves communication with families and between care providers.
Open
Quotation
Patients that are gonna come to intestinal rehab program have intestinal failure, and we can divide the causes of intestinal failure into three categories.
Open
Statement
Causes of intestinal failure divide into three categories: short bowel syndrome, motility disorders, and congenital enteropathies.
Open
Statement
Short bowel syndrome is by far the most common category of intestinal failure in pediatric patients.
Open
Quotation
There's short bowel syndrome, which by far is the most common category in pediatric patients with intestinal failure, and causes of short bowel syndrome are usually related to diagnoses of or, or disorders of the neonate.
Open
Statement
Causes of short bowel syndrome include congenital anomalies (intestinal atresia, malrotation, volvulus, gastroschisis, long segment Hirschsprung disease) and acquired neonatal diseases (necrotizing enterocolitis).
Open
Quotation
So if we think of the intestine like a pipe, and that pipe is made of muscle that contracts in a coordinated way to push food and stool from one end to the other, you can have abnormalities of the muscle itself, or of the nerves that control that muscle. And the bowel is unable to push things through in a coordinated way.
Open
Statement
Motility disorders occur when abnormalities of intestinal muscle or the nerves controlling that muscle prevent coordinated propulsion of food and stool.
Open
Statement
Congenital enteropathies are conditions where patients have all their bowel but the mucosal lining does not digest or absorb properly.
Open
Quotation
Enteropathies or the congenital diarrheas, and these are conditions where the patient has all of their bowel, but the mucosa, the inside lining that, that absorbs, uh, digests and absorbs doesn't work.
Open
Statement
Some patients have elements of two or all three categories of intestinal failure in their presentation.
Open
Quotation
The reason it's important to at least identify these three categories is that some patients will have elements of 12, or 3 of the categories, the way they present.
Open
Statement
Most intestinal failure patients are infants or babies, but some older pediatric patients develop intestinal failure from inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn disease complications, trauma, malignancy, or vascular thrombosis.
Open
Statement
Long-term survivors now develop chronic comorbidities not previously seen to the same extent because patients did not live long enough, including renal dysfunction, metabolic bone disease, neurocognitive issues, and quality of life problems.
Open
Quotation
But now what we're seeing is we have kids that have developed chronic comorbidities, that comorbidities that never, we didn't really see to the same extent because they didn't live long enough.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 1: What is intestinal rehabilitation?
Quotation
Well, let's go back one step before that and sort of define what is intestinal failure because that sort of leads into who's going to benefit from an intestinal rehab program.
Open
Quotation
It it's, it's really a functional problem. Essentially, when someone's gut for whatever the diagnosis, whatever the reason, their gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, calories to support survival and in the in the case of children, growth, which is a big distinction between adults and children.
Open
Statement
Intestinal failure is a functional problem where gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, and calories to support survival and, in children, growth.
Open
Quotation
So, um, an intestinal rehabilitation program, as we defined also in these Aspen guidelines that just came out, is a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of Their specialized nutrition and other associated needs that they have.
Open
Statement
An intestinal rehabilitation program is a multidisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of their specialized nutrition and other associated needs, as defined in recent ASPEN guidelines.
Open
Statement
Intestinal rehabilitation streamlines care and improves communication between family and care providers through an amalgamation of experts providing holistic, comprehensive, coordinated care.
Open
Quotation
Patients that are gonna come to intestinal rehab program have intestinal failure, and we can divide the causes of intestinal failure into three categories.
Open
Statement
Causes of short bowel syndrome are usually related to neonatal disorders including congenital anomalies (intestinal atresia, malrotation, volvulus, gastroschisis, long segment Hirschsprung disease) or acquired diseases (necrotizing enterocolitis).
Open
Quotation
There's short bowel syndrome, which by far is the most common category in pediatric patients with intestinal failure, and causes of short bowel syndrome are usually related to diagnoses of or, or disorders of the neonate.
Open
Statement
Short bowel syndrome is by far the most common category of intestinal failure in pediatric patients.
Open
Statement
Motility disorders occur when abnormalities of the intestinal muscle itself or the nerves controlling that muscle prevent coordinated propulsion of food and stool, making patients dependent on intravenous support.
Open
Quotation
So if we think of the intestine like a pipe, and that pipe is made of muscle that contracts in a coordinated way to push food and stool from one end to the other, you can have abnormalities of the muscle itself, or of the nerves that control that muscle. And the bowel is unable to push things through in a coordinated way.
Open
Statement
Enteropathies or congenital diarrheas are conditions where the patient has all of their bowel but the mucosal lining that digests and absorbs does not work, leading to hypersecretion and profuse fluid losses.
Open
Quotation
Enteropathies or the congenital diarrheas, and these are conditions where the patient has all of their bowel, but the mucosa, the inside lining that, that absorbs, uh, digests and absorbs doesn't work.
Open
Statement
Some patients will have elements of two or all three categories of intestinal failure; for example, gastroschisis can involve short bowel, inflammation affecting absorption, and motility issues.
Open
Statement
Although most intestinal failure patients are infants or babies, older pediatric patients can develop intestinal failure from inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease complications, trauma, malignancy, or vascular thrombosis leading to gut loss.
Open
Statement
Improved survival has revealed chronic comorbidities not previously seen to the same extent because patients did not live long enough, including renal dysfunction, metabolic bone disease, neurocognitive issues, and quality of life concerns.
Open
Paul's statements about Crohn's Disease 123 statements
Open the Crohn's Disease collection →
Intestinal rehabilitation: What is intestinal rehab? - Episode 1
Quotation
Well, let's go back one step before that and sort of define what is intestinal failure because that sort of leads into who's going to benefit from an intestinal rehab program.
Open
Statement
Intestinal failure is when gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, and calories to support survival and, in children, growth.
Open
Quotation
It it's, it's really a functional problem. Essentially, when someone's gut for whatever the diagnosis, whatever the reason, their gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, calories to support survival and in the in the case of children, growth, which is a big distinction between adults and children.
Open
Quotation
So, um, an intestinal rehabilitation program, as we defined also in these Aspen guidelines that just came out, is a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of Their specialized nutrition and other associated needs that they have.
Open
Statement
An intestinal rehabilitation program is a multidisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of their specialized nutrition and other associated needs, as defined in recent ASPEN guidelines.
Open
Statement
The intestinal rehabilitation approach streamlines care and improves communication with families and between care providers.
Open
Quotation
Patients that are gonna come to intestinal rehab program have intestinal failure, and we can divide the causes of intestinal failure into three categories.
Open
Statement
Causes of intestinal failure divide into three categories: short bowel syndrome, motility disorders, and congenital enteropathies.
Open
Quotation
There's short bowel syndrome, which by far is the most common category in pediatric patients with intestinal failure, and causes of short bowel syndrome are usually related to diagnoses of or, or disorders of the neonate.
Open
Statement
Short bowel syndrome is by far the most common category of intestinal failure in pediatric patients.
Open
Statement
Causes of short bowel syndrome include congenital anomalies (intestinal atresia, malrotation, volvulus, gastroschisis, long segment Hirschsprung disease) and acquired neonatal diseases (necrotizing enterocolitis).
Open
Quotation
So if we think of the intestine like a pipe, and that pipe is made of muscle that contracts in a coordinated way to push food and stool from one end to the other, you can have abnormalities of the muscle itself, or of the nerves that control that muscle. And the bowel is unable to push things through in a coordinated way.
Open
Statement
Motility disorders occur when abnormalities of intestinal muscle or the nerves controlling that muscle prevent coordinated propulsion of food and stool.
Open
Statement
Congenital enteropathies are conditions where patients have all their bowel but the mucosal lining does not digest or absorb properly.
Open
Quotation
Enteropathies or the congenital diarrheas, and these are conditions where the patient has all of their bowel, but the mucosa, the inside lining that, that absorbs, uh, digests and absorbs doesn't work.
Open
Quotation
The reason it's important to at least identify these three categories is that some patients will have elements of 12, or 3 of the categories, the way they present.
Open
Statement
Some patients have elements of two or all three categories of intestinal failure in their presentation.
Open
Statement
Most intestinal failure patients are infants or babies, but some older pediatric patients develop intestinal failure from inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn disease complications, trauma, malignancy, or vascular thrombosis.
Open
Statement
Long-term survivors now develop chronic comorbidities not previously seen to the same extent because patients did not live long enough, including renal dysfunction, metabolic bone disease, neurocognitive issues, and quality of life problems.
Open
Quotation
But now what we're seeing is we have kids that have developed chronic comorbidities, that comorbidities that never, we didn't really see to the same extent because they didn't live long enough.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 1: What is intestinal rehabilitation?
Quotation
Well, let's go back one step before that and sort of define what is intestinal failure because that sort of leads into who's going to benefit from an intestinal rehab program.
Open
Statement
Intestinal failure is a functional problem where gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, and calories to support survival and, in children, growth.
Open
Quotation
It it's, it's really a functional problem. Essentially, when someone's gut for whatever the diagnosis, whatever the reason, their gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, calories to support survival and in the in the case of children, growth, which is a big distinction between adults and children.
Open
Quotation
So, um, an intestinal rehabilitation program, as we defined also in these Aspen guidelines that just came out, is a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of Their specialized nutrition and other associated needs that they have.
Open
Statement
An intestinal rehabilitation program is a multidisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of their specialized nutrition and other associated needs, as defined in recent ASPEN guidelines.
Open
Statement
Intestinal rehabilitation streamlines care and improves communication between family and care providers through an amalgamation of experts providing holistic, comprehensive, coordinated care.
Open
Quotation
Patients that are gonna come to intestinal rehab program have intestinal failure, and we can divide the causes of intestinal failure into three categories.
Open
Statement
Short bowel syndrome is by far the most common category of intestinal failure in pediatric patients.
Open
Statement
Causes of short bowel syndrome are usually related to neonatal disorders including congenital anomalies (intestinal atresia, malrotation, volvulus, gastroschisis, long segment Hirschsprung disease) or acquired diseases (necrotizing enterocolitis).
Open
Quotation
There's short bowel syndrome, which by far is the most common category in pediatric patients with intestinal failure, and causes of short bowel syndrome are usually related to diagnoses of or, or disorders of the neonate.
Open
Statement
Motility disorders occur when abnormalities of the intestinal muscle itself or the nerves controlling that muscle prevent coordinated propulsion of food and stool, making patients dependent on intravenous support.
Open
Quotation
So if we think of the intestine like a pipe, and that pipe is made of muscle that contracts in a coordinated way to push food and stool from one end to the other, you can have abnormalities of the muscle itself, or of the nerves that control that muscle. And the bowel is unable to push things through in a coordinated way.
Open
Statement
Enteropathies or congenital diarrheas are conditions where the patient has all of their bowel but the mucosal lining that digests and absorbs does not work, leading to hypersecretion and profuse fluid losses.
Open
Quotation
Enteropathies or the congenital diarrheas, and these are conditions where the patient has all of their bowel, but the mucosa, the inside lining that, that absorbs, uh, digests and absorbs doesn't work.
Open
Statement
Some patients will have elements of two or all three categories of intestinal failure; for example, gastroschisis can involve short bowel, inflammation affecting absorption, and motility issues.
Open
Statement
Although most intestinal failure patients are infants or babies, older pediatric patients can develop intestinal failure from inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease complications, trauma, malignancy, or vascular thrombosis leading to gut loss.
Open
Statement
Improved survival has revealed chronic comorbidities not previously seen to the same extent because patients did not live long enough, including renal dysfunction, metabolic bone disease, neurocognitive issues, and quality of life concerns.
Open
Advancements in Pediatric Intestinal Failure: Innovative Therapies and Improved Outcomes
Quotation
They go anywhere from mild cholestasis to more profound steatosis, which we see in older children or adolescents and adults, with ongoing inflammation, fibrosis, and ultimately cirrhosis leading to death or the need for transplantation.
Open
Statement
Liver disease associated with intestinal failure ranges from mild cholestasis to profound steatosis (in older children/adolescents/adults), with progression through inflammation, fibrosis, and ultimately cirrhosis leading to death or transplantation.
Open
Quotation
There's some patient factors related to prematurity, uh, lack of enteral feeding, the inability to feed because of the anatomy or recurrent infections, sepsis, which can affect the liver directly and indirectly. And the components of TPN.
Open
Statement
Risk factors for intestinal failure-associated liver disease include prematurity, lack of enteral feeding, inability to feed due to anatomy, recurrent infections/sepsis, and components of TPN.
Open
Quotation
Intestinal rehab teams improve the outcome of children because of integration of care, improved communication, better continuity.
Open
Statement
Intestinal rehabilitation teams improve outcomes through integration of care, improved communication, and better continuity.
Open
Statement
Intestinal rehabilitation programs rely heavily on speech, language, and occupational therapy specialists.
Open
Quotation
While our patients are on TPN, we're trying to mitigate the progression of liver disease, sepsis, vascular complications.
Open
Statement
While patients are on TPN, the goal is to mitigate progression of liver disease, sepsis, and vascular complications.
Open
Quotation
What we ask our Families to do at home is significant. These patients go home on TPN. The families run the pump, add vitamins to the TPN, program the pump, record ins and outs, manage the G tube, manage the stoma.
Open
Statement
Families of intestinal failure patients manage significant tasks at home including running TPN pumps, adding vitamins, programming pumps, recording ins and outs, managing G-tubes, and managing stomas.
Open
Statement
High-quality families demonstrate evidence of burnout over time despite education and empowerment efforts.
Open
Quotation
We educate and empower our parents because we've all seen high-quality families that over time demonstrate evidence of burnout.
Open
Statement
Literature shows intestinal rehabilitation programs improve survival related to liver dysfunction, decrease septic episodes, reduce central line complications, reduce ICU admissions, and enable patients listed for transplant to come off the list due to improved status.
Open
Quotation
There's literature that shows the improvement of outcomes with programs in general. You see an improved survival related to liver dysfunction, decreased septic episodes, reduction in central line complications, reduced ICU admissions, and the patients that were listed for transplant are coming off the list because of improved status. Mortality has gone down.
Open
Statement
Mortality in intestinal failure has decreased with intestinal rehabilitation programs.
Open
Quotation
Lipids are a source of essential fatty acids. They're a non-protein energy source important for growth. Fatty acids have a major role in cellular pathways.
Open
Statement
Lipids in parenteral nutrition are a source of essential fatty acids, a non-protein energy source important for growth, and fatty acids have a major role in cellular pathways.
Open
Statement
Historically, most lipid emulsions in North America are soybean-based with high phytosterol content, high omega-6 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid content, and low antioxidant content.
Open
Quotation
Historically, most of the lipid emulsions in North America are soybean-based, so they have a high phytosterol content. A high omega 6 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid content and low antioxidant content.
Open
Statement
Prolonged soybean-based lipid exposure is associated with deterioration of liver function, specifically cholestasis.
Open
Quotation
This is a paper that we wrote several years ago that showed that for every day that an infant is exposed to soybean lipid dosed at greater than 2.5 g per kilo per day, which is more conventional dosing. That is associated with a 3% increase in the odds ratio of developing advanced liver disease.
Open
Statement
For every day an infant is exposed to soybean lipid dosed at greater than 2.5 g/kg/day, there is a 3% increase in the odds ratio of developing advanced liver disease.
Open
Statement
First-generation lipid emulsions were soybean-based, rich in omega-6 PUFA (such as Intralipid), and have been in use for 40 years.
Open
Quotation
The first generation were basically the soybean-based lipids, rich in omega 6UUFA. That would be intralipids, and that's been around for 40 years and it's saved a lot of lives.
Open
Statement
Third-generation lipid emulsions reduce omega-6 component and change the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio by adding omega-3 lipids.
Open
Quotation
The 3rd generation lipids attempt to not only reduce the omega 6 component, but to change the omega 6 to the omega 3 ratio with the addition of omega 3 lipids.
Open
Statement
Omega-6 lipids are metabolized to arachidonic acid, which produces leukotrienes and prostaglandins with a more pro-inflammatory profile.
Open
Quotation
Omega 6 lipids are metabolized to arachidonic acid. Which produce leukotrienes and prostaglandins of the more pro-inflammatory profile. The omega 3 lipids are metabolized through EPA and DHA and lead to the production of cytokines that have a less inflammatory profile.
Open
Statement
Omega-3 lipids are metabolized through EPA and DHA, leading to production of cytokines with a less inflammatory profile.
Open
Statement
Omega-3 lipids improve bile flow by decreasing lithogenicity of bile, decreasing steatosis, stimulating improved beta-oxidation and clearance, lowering oxidative stress, and supporting immune function.
Open
Quotation
Omega 3 lipids improve bile flow because they decrease lithogenicity of the bile. They decrease steatosis. They stimulate improved beta oxidation and clearance, and they lower oxidative stress and support immune function.
Open
Statement
The two main strategies for improving lipids in parenteral nutrition are lipid minimization and change in composition.
Open
Quotation
There's a lot of literature dating back even decades that show that if you restrict exposure to soybean lipid, you improve cholestasis. When you dose the lipid at 1 g per kilo per day or less.
Open
Statement
Literature dating back decades shows that restricting exposure to soybean lipid improves cholestasis, particularly when dosed at 1 g/kg/day or less.
Open
Statement
In preterm babies, fat is important for growth, especially for neurocognitive development, creating a risk of essential fatty acid deficiency if lipid dosing is restricted too much.
Open
Quotation
The problem with this in preterm babies is that fat is important for growth, especially for neurocognitive development. So there is the risk of essential fatty acid deficiency if we restrict lipid dosing too much.
Open
Quotation
DHA and arachidonic acid are important for retinal and brain development. None of the lipid emulsions today were designed for premature babies. They were all designed for adults in a critical care setting.
Open
Statement
None of the current lipid emulsions were designed for premature babies; they were all designed for adults in critical care settings.
Open
Quotation
We're currently in work with industry to create a lipid emulsion that's more specifically tailored to preterm babies that has a higher content of arachidonic acid.
Open
Statement
Work is currently underway with industry to create a lipid emulsion specifically tailored to preterm babies with higher arachidonic acid content.
Open
Statement
Central lines are the lifeline for intestinal failure patients, and without venous access, families cannot be supported.
Open
Quotation
So our patients with central lines, it's literally their lifeline. And without venous access, we can't support our families. They are at risk for complications, infections, blockages, thrombosis, and breakage.
Open
Statement
Central lines are at risk for complications including infections, blockages, thrombosis, and breakage.
Open
Quotation
In the United States, there's about 240,000 collapses in the United States on an annual basis. The cost of one of these is about $30,000 about $2 billion a year nationwide.
Open
Statement
In the United States, there are approximately 240,000 central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) annually, with each costing about $30,000, totaling approximately $2 billion per year nationwide.
Open
Quotation
We landed on 4% tetrosodium EDTA or kite lock as it's known in the trade name, which is an antithrombolytic, anti-fibrinolytic, and antimicrobial. So, it satisfies all three criteria that are important for a good lock solution.
Open
Statement
The team pivoted to 4% tetrasodium EDTA (Taurolock/Kitelock) when ethanol became too expensive and difficult to obtain.
Open
Statement
4% tetrasodium EDTA (Kitelock) is antithrombotic, anti-fibrinolytic, and antimicrobial, satisfying all three criteria important for a good lock solution.
Open
Quotation
It's licensed in Europe, it's licensed in Australia. It's not available in the United States.
Open
Quotation
I'm happy to say that we have finally launched our multi-center randomized trial of kitelock versus heparin, which went live 4 weeks ago, and we're actively recruiting patients. In the next year, we'll have the results of the trial, and we can get the kitelock into the United States.
Open
Statement
A multi-center randomized trial of Kitelock versus heparin went live 4 weeks ago and is actively recruiting patients, with results expected within the next year.
Open
Statement
In short bowel syndrome, there are three anatomical subtypes: Type 1 (high jejunostomy), Type 2 (loss of distal small bowel/ileum and part of colon with small bowel-colonic anastomosis), and Type 3 (loss of mid-small bowel with retained ileum and intact colon).
Open
Quotation
In short bowel syndrome, we have 3 anatomical subtypes. Type 1 is the high L piginostomy. Type 2, where you've lost your distal small bowel, your ileum, and part of your colon, and there's a small bowel colonic anastomosis. And then type 3 where you've lost the mid-part of your small bowel, but you still have some retained ileum and an intact colon.
Open
Quotation
The most common anatomical subtype in pediatrics is type 2. These patients struggle. Type 1 and type 2 struggle because they lack an ileum.
Open
Quotation
The problem is that the native hormone has a half-life of 7 minutes. So it's not practical. So it's been altered, one amino acid alteration to an analog called taglutide. That has a half-life of 2 hours and it's given once a day subcutaneous injection.
Open
Statement
Native GLP-2 hormone has a half-life of 7 minutes, making it impractical for clinical use.
Open
Statement
GLP-2 has been altered by one amino acid to create an analog called teduglutide, which has a half-life of 2 hours and is given once daily by subcutaneous injection.
Open
Statement
A multi-center phase 3 study published in 2020 at Cincinnati Children's showed patients receiving teduglutide had a 40% reduction in TPN fluid and calorie requirements over a six-month period.
Open
Quotation
What we see in patients that received taglutide, a 40% reduction in TPN fluid and calorie requirements over a six-month period. And 70% of patients that received the analog achieved the study endpoint, which was a 20% reduction in TPN requirements.
Open
Statement
70% of patients who received teduglutide achieved the study endpoint of a 20% reduction in TPN requirements.
Open
Quotation
It's licensed for children that are greater than 1 year of age. Already, it's made a big difference in our practice and even kids with very extreme anatomy have been able to get off TPN as a result of being able to replace this hormone.
Open
Statement
Teduglutide has made a big difference in practice, with even children with very extreme anatomy able to get off TPN.
Open
Statement
Another GLP-2 analog, apraglutide, has a longer half-life and can be given once weekly.
Open
Quotation
Another GLP-2 analog, a proglutide, has a longer half-life and can be given once a week. That's currently being studied. And what we've shown is that it actually works even better than taglutide. You get more bowel lengthening with a proglutide compared to glutide.
Open
Quotation
These interventions have led to a decrease in transplantation since 2008. In large part because of the successes of intestinal rehabilitation, the outcomes of transplant at 5 years are about 65%. Whatever we can do to avoid transplant and lifelong immunosuppression, that is our goal.
Open
Statement
These interventions (optimized lipids, central line infection prevention, GLP-2 analogs) have led to a decrease in transplantation since 2008.
Open
Statement
The decrease in transplantation is in large part because of the successes of intestinal rehabilitation.
Open
Quotation
We have lots of exciting medical and surgical options available to us, but this should all be done under the umbrella of a multidisciplinary team.
Open
Paul's statements about Etiologies (Gastroschisis/NEC/Atresia/Volvulus) 49 statements
Open the Etiologies (Gastroschisis/NEC/Atresia/Volvulus) collection →
Intestinal rehabilitation: What is intestinal rehab? - Episode 1
Quotation
Well, let's go back one step before that and sort of define what is intestinal failure because that sort of leads into who's going to benefit from an intestinal rehab program.
Open
Statement
Intestinal failure is when gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, and calories to support survival and, in children, growth.
Open
Quotation
It it's, it's really a functional problem. Essentially, when someone's gut for whatever the diagnosis, whatever the reason, their gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, calories to support survival and in the in the case of children, growth, which is a big distinction between adults and children.
Open
Statement
An intestinal rehabilitation program is a multidisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of their specialized nutrition and other associated needs, as defined in recent ASPEN guidelines.
Open
Quotation
So, um, an intestinal rehabilitation program, as we defined also in these Aspen guidelines that just came out, is a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of Their specialized nutrition and other associated needs that they have.
Open
Statement
The intestinal rehabilitation approach streamlines care and improves communication with families and between care providers.
Open
Quotation
Patients that are gonna come to intestinal rehab program have intestinal failure, and we can divide the causes of intestinal failure into three categories.
Open
Statement
Causes of intestinal failure divide into three categories: short bowel syndrome, motility disorders, and congenital enteropathies.
Open
Quotation
There's short bowel syndrome, which by far is the most common category in pediatric patients with intestinal failure, and causes of short bowel syndrome are usually related to diagnoses of or, or disorders of the neonate.
Open
Statement
Short bowel syndrome is by far the most common category of intestinal failure in pediatric patients.
Open
Statement
Causes of short bowel syndrome include congenital anomalies (intestinal atresia, malrotation, volvulus, gastroschisis, long segment Hirschsprung disease) and acquired neonatal diseases (necrotizing enterocolitis).
Open
Statement
Motility disorders occur when abnormalities of intestinal muscle or the nerves controlling that muscle prevent coordinated propulsion of food and stool.
Open
Quotation
So if we think of the intestine like a pipe, and that pipe is made of muscle that contracts in a coordinated way to push food and stool from one end to the other, you can have abnormalities of the muscle itself, or of the nerves that control that muscle. And the bowel is unable to push things through in a coordinated way.
Open
Statement
Congenital enteropathies are conditions where patients have all their bowel but the mucosal lining does not digest or absorb properly.
Open
Quotation
Enteropathies or the congenital diarrheas, and these are conditions where the patient has all of their bowel, but the mucosa, the inside lining that, that absorbs, uh, digests and absorbs doesn't work.
Open
Statement
Some patients have elements of two or all three categories of intestinal failure in their presentation.
Open
Quotation
The reason it's important to at least identify these three categories is that some patients will have elements of 12, or 3 of the categories, the way they present.
Open
Statement
Most intestinal failure patients are infants or babies, but some older pediatric patients develop intestinal failure from inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn disease complications, trauma, malignancy, or vascular thrombosis.
Open
Statement
Long-term survivors now develop chronic comorbidities not previously seen to the same extent because patients did not live long enough, including renal dysfunction, metabolic bone disease, neurocognitive issues, and quality of life problems.
Open
Quotation
But now what we're seeing is we have kids that have developed chronic comorbidities, that comorbidities that never, we didn't really see to the same extent because they didn't live long enough.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 1: What is intestinal rehabilitation?
Quotation
Well, let's go back one step before that and sort of define what is intestinal failure because that sort of leads into who's going to benefit from an intestinal rehab program.
Open
Quotation
It it's, it's really a functional problem. Essentially, when someone's gut for whatever the diagnosis, whatever the reason, their gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, calories to support survival and in the in the case of children, growth, which is a big distinction between adults and children.
Open
Statement
Intestinal failure is a functional problem where gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, and calories to support survival and, in children, growth.
Open
Statement
An intestinal rehabilitation program is a multidisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of their specialized nutrition and other associated needs, as defined in recent ASPEN guidelines.
Open
Quotation
So, um, an intestinal rehabilitation program, as we defined also in these Aspen guidelines that just came out, is a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of Their specialized nutrition and other associated needs that they have.
Open
Statement
Intestinal rehabilitation streamlines care and improves communication between family and care providers through an amalgamation of experts providing holistic, comprehensive, coordinated care.
Open
Quotation
Patients that are gonna come to intestinal rehab program have intestinal failure, and we can divide the causes of intestinal failure into three categories.
Open
Statement
Short bowel syndrome is by far the most common category of intestinal failure in pediatric patients.
Open
Quotation
There's short bowel syndrome, which by far is the most common category in pediatric patients with intestinal failure, and causes of short bowel syndrome are usually related to diagnoses of or, or disorders of the neonate.
Open
Statement
Causes of short bowel syndrome are usually related to neonatal disorders including congenital anomalies (intestinal atresia, malrotation, volvulus, gastroschisis, long segment Hirschsprung disease) or acquired diseases (necrotizing enterocolitis).
Open
Quotation
So if we think of the intestine like a pipe, and that pipe is made of muscle that contracts in a coordinated way to push food and stool from one end to the other, you can have abnormalities of the muscle itself, or of the nerves that control that muscle. And the bowel is unable to push things through in a coordinated way.
Open
Statement
Motility disorders occur when abnormalities of the intestinal muscle itself or the nerves controlling that muscle prevent coordinated propulsion of food and stool, making patients dependent on intravenous support.
Open
Statement
Enteropathies or congenital diarrheas are conditions where the patient has all of their bowel but the mucosal lining that digests and absorbs does not work, leading to hypersecretion and profuse fluid losses.
Open
Quotation
Enteropathies or the congenital diarrheas, and these are conditions where the patient has all of their bowel, but the mucosa, the inside lining that, that absorbs, uh, digests and absorbs doesn't work.
Open
Statement
Some patients will have elements of two or all three categories of intestinal failure; for example, gastroschisis can involve short bowel, inflammation affecting absorption, and motility issues.
Open
Statement
Although most intestinal failure patients are infants or babies, older pediatric patients can develop intestinal failure from inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease complications, trauma, malignancy, or vascular thrombosis leading to gut loss.
Open
Statement
Improved survival has revealed chronic comorbidities not previously seen to the same extent because patients did not live long enough, including renal dysfunction, metabolic bone disease, neurocognitive issues, and quality of life concerns.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 2: Overwhelming intestinal damage, Part 1
Statement
The outlook for preterm infants with short bowel syndrome has changed over the last two decades as a result of advances in medical and surgical care.
Open
Statement
A more aggressive approach to surgical resection has accompanied improved outcomes in short bowel syndrome.
Open
Statement
Intestinal transplant is not experimental therapy; it is part of the continuum of therapy for a child with short bowel syndrome.
Open
Statement
In the acute phase with infarcted gut, the clinical picture is usually one of overwhelming sepsis, and even after resection leaving ultra-short bowel, patients are rocky and unstable due to sepsis, SIRS, or septic experience.
Open
Statement
In the very acute time, the primary cause of death is sepsis and multi-organ failure.
Open
Statement
In the intermediate and longer term, complications include intestinal failure-associated liver disease, recurrent sepsis, or line problems, which historically led to death or transplant.
Open
Statement
Much of the success seen in the last two decades is because clinicians are way better at preventing sepsis and liver disease.
Open
Statement
Babies born with duodenal atresia or very proximal jejunal atresia are born with elevated direct or conjugated bilirubins, supporting the concept that an undecompressed foregut affects liver function.
Open
Statement
Liver function is affected by multiple factors: prematurity, sepsis, choice of TPN, and presence or absence of enteral nutrition.
Open
Paul's statements about Gastroschisis 28 statements
Open the Gastroschisis collection →
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 3: Enteral Autonomy, Part 1
Quotation
That remaining bowel, that residual intestine goes through this process of adaptation and where the bowel is trying to compensate to reestablish function, to absorb enough nutrients and fluids to maintain survival.
Open
Statement
Adaptation is driven by intraluminal nutrients and their interaction with pancreatic biliary secretions and trophic gut peptides
Open
Statement
Structural changes during adaptation include mucosal hypertrophy with increased villous length, increased blood supply through angiogenesis, bowel dilation, and gut lengthening in younger children, all increasing surface area for absorption
Open
Statement
Functional changes during adaptation include slowed motility to allow more contact time and upregulation of enterocyte transporters
Open
Quotation
So, each, each cell is working harder, if you will, to try to, to, Function better and our job as a team is to try to promote that the best we can.
Open
Statement
In the past, patients were lost to complications such as liver disease before they could reach their adaptive potential; management of these complications has improved significantly
Open
Statement
Current ASPEN guidelines define enteral autonomy as independence of parenteral support for 12 weeks with maintenance of adequate growth and hydration
Open
Quotation
It's one thing to turn off parenteral support, but, you know, you're not really off TPN or off parental support unless you can actually grow off TPN.
Open
Statement
A 2012 PIFCO paper by Squires showed 50% of patients achieved enteral autonomy over 5-6 years, 25% died, and 25% got transplanted
Open
Statement
Recent papers in the last 5-6 years show 60-80% of patients achieve enteral autonomy, with a higher proportion surviving to reach autonomy
Open
Statement
At 5 years old, a child has about 425 centimeters of small bowel, with the steepest growth rate between 35 weeks gestation to about 6 months postnatal
Open
Statement
The ileocecal valve itself is not the important factor; most people who lose their ileocecal valve also lose their terminal ileum, which is the bigger factor for adaptive potential
Open
Statement
If a patient has the majority of their small bowel, it almost does not matter how much colon they have; probability of enteral autonomy is 85-100%
Open
CAPS - The use of urine sodium to creatinine ratio as a marker of total body sodium in infants with intestinal failure - Sara Choi
Statement
Patients with stomas, even those without intestinal failure, run the risk of sodium depletion, which has a significant impact on their growth.
Open
Statement
Stomas and high stool losses are a large source of sodium bicarbonate as well as magnesium loss.
Open
Statement
Sodium status needs to be thought of, especially in the setting of a baby experiencing poor weight gain in the exposure to what is believed to be adequate calories.
Open
Quotation
It's important to remember that when we replace sodium, it does help restore growth, but it doesn't allow catch up growth.
Open
Statement
When sodium is replaced, it helps restore growth, but it doesn't allow catch up growth.
Open
Statement
It's important to track these patients serially so that a trend can be detected and sodium depletion can be avoided in the first place.
Open
Statement
If it becomes part of practice to order urine electrolytes at the time that someone's doing their TPN blood work, it's easy to calculate the fractional excretion of sodium ratio.
Open
Statement
Having potassium, chloride, and osmolality added to the urine electrolytes in addition to just the sodium gives a better picture of whether someone is truly sodium depleted.
Open
Statement
If potassium level is higher than sodium level in urine, that often indicates the aldosterone pathway is turned on.
Open
Quotation
If we see their potassium level higher than their sodium level, that often will tell you that the aldosterone pathway is turned on.
Open
Paul's statements about Intestinal Failure 364 statements
Open the Intestinal Failure collection →
Intestinal rehabilitation: What is intestinal rehab? - Episode 1
Quotation
Well, let's go back one step before that and sort of define what is intestinal failure because that sort of leads into who's going to benefit from an intestinal rehab program.
Open
Quotation
It it's, it's really a functional problem. Essentially, when someone's gut for whatever the diagnosis, whatever the reason, their gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, calories to support survival and in the in the case of children, growth, which is a big distinction between adults and children.
Open
Statement
Intestinal failure is when gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, and calories to support survival and, in children, growth.
Open
Quotation
So, um, an intestinal rehabilitation program, as we defined also in these Aspen guidelines that just came out, is a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of Their specialized nutrition and other associated needs that they have.
Open
Statement
An intestinal rehabilitation program is a multidisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of their specialized nutrition and other associated needs, as defined in recent ASPEN guidelines.
Open
Statement
The intestinal rehabilitation approach streamlines care and improves communication with families and between care providers.
Open
Quotation
Patients that are gonna come to intestinal rehab program have intestinal failure, and we can divide the causes of intestinal failure into three categories.
Open
Statement
Causes of intestinal failure divide into three categories: short bowel syndrome, motility disorders, and congenital enteropathies.
Open
Quotation
There's short bowel syndrome, which by far is the most common category in pediatric patients with intestinal failure, and causes of short bowel syndrome are usually related to diagnoses of or, or disorders of the neonate.
Open
Statement
Short bowel syndrome is by far the most common category of intestinal failure in pediatric patients.
Open
Statement
Causes of short bowel syndrome include congenital anomalies (intestinal atresia, malrotation, volvulus, gastroschisis, long segment Hirschsprung disease) and acquired neonatal diseases (necrotizing enterocolitis).
Open
Quotation
So if we think of the intestine like a pipe, and that pipe is made of muscle that contracts in a coordinated way to push food and stool from one end to the other, you can have abnormalities of the muscle itself, or of the nerves that control that muscle. And the bowel is unable to push things through in a coordinated way.
Open
Statement
Motility disorders occur when abnormalities of intestinal muscle or the nerves controlling that muscle prevent coordinated propulsion of food and stool.
Open
Quotation
Enteropathies or the congenital diarrheas, and these are conditions where the patient has all of their bowel, but the mucosa, the inside lining that, that absorbs, uh, digests and absorbs doesn't work.
Open
Statement
Congenital enteropathies are conditions where patients have all their bowel but the mucosal lining does not digest or absorb properly.
Open
Quotation
The reason it's important to at least identify these three categories is that some patients will have elements of 12, or 3 of the categories, the way they present.
Open
Statement
Some patients have elements of two or all three categories of intestinal failure in their presentation.
Open
Statement
Most intestinal failure patients are infants or babies, but some older pediatric patients develop intestinal failure from inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn disease complications, trauma, malignancy, or vascular thrombosis.
Open
Statement
Long-term survivors now develop chronic comorbidities not previously seen to the same extent because patients did not live long enough, including renal dysfunction, metabolic bone disease, neurocognitive issues, and quality of life problems.
Open
Quotation
But now what we're seeing is we have kids that have developed chronic comorbidities, that comorbidities that never, we didn't really see to the same extent because they didn't live long enough.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 1: What is intestinal rehabilitation?
Quotation
Well, let's go back one step before that and sort of define what is intestinal failure because that sort of leads into who's going to benefit from an intestinal rehab program.
Open
Quotation
It it's, it's really a functional problem. Essentially, when someone's gut for whatever the diagnosis, whatever the reason, their gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, calories to support survival and in the in the case of children, growth, which is a big distinction between adults and children.
Open
Statement
Intestinal failure is a functional problem where gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, and calories to support survival and, in children, growth.
Open
Statement
An intestinal rehabilitation program is a multidisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of their specialized nutrition and other associated needs, as defined in recent ASPEN guidelines.
Open
Quotation
So, um, an intestinal rehabilitation program, as we defined also in these Aspen guidelines that just came out, is a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of Their specialized nutrition and other associated needs that they have.
Open
Statement
Intestinal rehabilitation streamlines care and improves communication between family and care providers through an amalgamation of experts providing holistic, comprehensive, coordinated care.
Open
Quotation
Patients that are gonna come to intestinal rehab program have intestinal failure, and we can divide the causes of intestinal failure into three categories.
Open
Statement
Causes of short bowel syndrome are usually related to neonatal disorders including congenital anomalies (intestinal atresia, malrotation, volvulus, gastroschisis, long segment Hirschsprung disease) or acquired diseases (necrotizing enterocolitis).
Open
Statement
Short bowel syndrome is by far the most common category of intestinal failure in pediatric patients.
Open
Quotation
There's short bowel syndrome, which by far is the most common category in pediatric patients with intestinal failure, and causes of short bowel syndrome are usually related to diagnoses of or, or disorders of the neonate.
Open
Statement
Motility disorders occur when abnormalities of the intestinal muscle itself or the nerves controlling that muscle prevent coordinated propulsion of food and stool, making patients dependent on intravenous support.
Open
Quotation
So if we think of the intestine like a pipe, and that pipe is made of muscle that contracts in a coordinated way to push food and stool from one end to the other, you can have abnormalities of the muscle itself, or of the nerves that control that muscle. And the bowel is unable to push things through in a coordinated way.
Open
Statement
Enteropathies or congenital diarrheas are conditions where the patient has all of their bowel but the mucosal lining that digests and absorbs does not work, leading to hypersecretion and profuse fluid losses.
Open
Quotation
Enteropathies or the congenital diarrheas, and these are conditions where the patient has all of their bowel, but the mucosa, the inside lining that, that absorbs, uh, digests and absorbs doesn't work.
Open
Statement
Some patients will have elements of two or all three categories of intestinal failure; for example, gastroschisis can involve short bowel, inflammation affecting absorption, and motility issues.
Open
Statement
Although most intestinal failure patients are infants or babies, older pediatric patients can develop intestinal failure from inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease complications, trauma, malignancy, or vascular thrombosis leading to gut loss.
Open
Statement
Improved survival has revealed chronic comorbidities not previously seen to the same extent because patients did not live long enough, including renal dysfunction, metabolic bone disease, neurocognitive issues, and quality of life concerns.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 2: Overwhelming intestinal damage, Part 1
Statement
The outlook for preterm infants with short bowel syndrome has changed over the last two decades as a result of advances in medical and surgical care.
Open
Statement
A more aggressive approach to surgical resection has accompanied improved outcomes in short bowel syndrome.
Open
Statement
Intestinal transplant is not experimental therapy; it is part of the continuum of therapy for a child with short bowel syndrome.
Open
Statement
In the acute phase with infarcted gut, the clinical picture is usually one of overwhelming sepsis, and even after resection leaving ultra-short bowel, patients are rocky and unstable due to sepsis, SIRS, or septic experience.
Open
Statement
In the very acute time, the primary cause of death is sepsis and multi-organ failure.
Open
Statement
In the intermediate and longer term, complications include intestinal failure-associated liver disease, recurrent sepsis, or line problems, which historically led to death or transplant.
Open
Statement
Much of the success seen in the last two decades is because clinicians are way better at preventing sepsis and liver disease.
Open
Statement
Babies born with duodenal atresia or very proximal jejunal atresia are born with elevated direct or conjugated bilirubins, supporting the concept that an undecompressed foregut affects liver function.
Open
Statement
Liver function is affected by multiple factors: prematurity, sepsis, choice of TPN, and presence or absence of enteral nutrition.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 2: Overwhelming intestinal damage, Part 2
Statement
In Toronto, ultra-short gut is classified as less than 20% of expected bowel length for age; in a term baby that corresponds to 20–30 centimeters.
Open
Statement
Overall survival in the ultra-short gut population in the current era of management is over 90%, actually 90–95%.
Open
Statement
Ultra-short gut patients who reached enteral autonomy required multiple nutritional supplements but were able to grow within normal parameters.
Open
Quotation
There should be more optimism in general with this population just because our ability to mitigate those long term, you know, risks. Of death from liver disease or sepsis have been transformed in the current era of management.
Open
Statement
Long-term risks of death from liver disease or sepsis in ultra-short gut patients have been transformed in the current era of management.
Open
Statement
Ultra-short gut patients who did better tended to have some remnant ileum and longer colonic remnants.
Open
Statement
Neonatologists see some of the survivors—ex-premature infants with intestinal failure—return to their follow-up clinics, which informs their perspective.
Open
Statement
Not every child needs to die with a laparotomy decision; the data will tell whether the unoperated septic/inflammatory response leads to negative outcomes.
Open
Quotation
I don't subscribe to the notion that Every kid needs to die with a laparotomy indecision.
Open
Statement
Long-term neurocognitive tracking of this population is part of the program's responsibility and is beneficial to patients.
Open
Statement
Lipid restriction as a way of controlling liver disease was never a practice subscribed to by the speakers.
Open
Statement
The surgeon's intraoperative decisions—what is done and what is not done—have a lifelong impact and are critically important; these decisions can determine whether the child stays on or gets off TPN or whether they survive.
Open
Quotation
The surgeon's role in the patient with short bowel syndrome is, is obviously significant. Partly for what we do and partly for what we don't do, right?
Open
Quotation
So, those, those decisions that you make at the time that you see an intraabdominal catastrophe can make the difference between whether this kid will get, stay on or get off TPN or whether they survive or don't.
Open
Statement
Traditional teaching is to remove obviously dead and infarcted bowel, leave suspicious or questionable bowel, and return in 24–48 hours to let it demarcate; the approach described is a departure from that teaching.
Open
Statement
Some of these children look worse over the next 24–36 hours, then start to stabilize—they may not get better, but they stop getting worse.
Open
Quotation
Often, some of these kids do get, they kind of look worse over the next 24, 36 hours, and then they start to, you know, they may not even be getting better, they just stop getting worse.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 3: Enteral Autonomy, Part 1
Statement
In short gut syndrome, residual intestine undergoes adaptation to compensate and reestablish function to absorb enough nutrients and fluids to maintain survival.
Open
Quotation
That remaining bowel, that residual intestine goes through this process of adaptation and where the bowel is trying to compensate to reestablish function, to absorb enough nutrients and fluids to maintain survival.
Open
Statement
In short gut syndrome, residual intestine undergoes adaptation to compensate and reestablish function to absorb enough nutrients and fluids to maintain survival.
Open
Quotation
That remaining bowel, that residual intestine goes through this process of adaptation and where the bowel is trying to compensate to reestablish function, to absorb enough nutrients and fluids to maintain survival.
Open
Statement
The adaptive process is driven by the presence of intraluminal nutrients and their interaction with gut secretions (pancreatic, biliary) and trophic gut peptides.
Open
Statement
The adaptive process is driven by the presence of intraluminal nutrients and their interaction with gut secretions (pancreatic, biliary) and trophic gut peptides.
Open
Quotation
The process is driven by The presence of intraluminal nutrients and their interaction with both gut secretions, you know, pancreatic biliary secretions, as well as the impact on the relationship with trophic gut peptides.
Open
Quotation
The process is driven by The presence of intraluminal nutrients and their interaction with both gut secretions, you know, pancreatic biliary secretions, as well as the impact on the relationship with trophic gut peptides.
Open
Statement
Structural changes during adaptation include mucosal hypertrophy (increased villous length), increased blood supply through angiogenesis, bowel dilation, and in younger children, gut lengthening—all increasing surface area for nutrient absorption.
Open
Statement
Structural changes during adaptation include mucosal hypertrophy (increased villous length), increased blood supply through angiogenesis, bowel dilation, and in younger children, gut lengthening—all increasing surface area for nutrient absorption.
Open
Quotation
What all of those things have in common is that they increase surface area for absorption absorption of nutrients, right?
Open
Quotation
What all of those things have in common is that they increase surface area for absorption absorption of nutrients, right?
Open
Statement
Functional changes during adaptation include slowed motility to allow more contact time and up-regulation of enterocyte transporters to move nutrients across cells more efficiently.
Open
Statement
Functional changes during adaptation include slowed motility to allow more contact time and up-regulation of enterocyte transporters to move nutrients across cells more efficiently.
Open
Quotation
So, each, each cell is working harder, if you will, to try to, to, Function better and our job as a team is to try to promote that the best we can.
Open
Quotation
So, each, each cell is working harder, if you will, to try to, to, Function better and our job as a team is to try to promote that the best we can.
Open
Statement
Until very recently, there was no standardized definition for enteral autonomy, and most intestinal failure outcomes have poor definitions.
Open
Statement
Until very recently, there was no standardized definition for enteral autonomy, and most intestinal failure outcomes have poor definitions.
Open
Statement
Higher proportions of patients are now surviving to have the ability to reach enteral autonomy due to better management of TPN complications such as line infections, liver disease, and vascular thrombosis.
Open
Statement
Higher proportions of patients are now surviving to have the ability to reach enteral autonomy due to better management of TPN complications such as line infections, liver disease, and vascular thrombosis.
Open
Statement
In the past, patients were lost to complications such as liver disease before they could reach their adaptive potential; current management is much better at preventing these complications.
Open
Statement
In the past, patients were lost to complications such as liver disease before they could reach their adaptive potential; current management is much better at preventing these complications.
Open
Quotation
So the current Aspen guidelines that just came out with standardized definitions, the independence of uh parental support for 12 weeks and with maintenance of adequate growth and hydration during that time period.
Open
Statement
The current ASPEN guidelines define enteral autonomy as independence from parenteral support for 12 weeks with maintenance of adequate growth and hydration during that time period.
Open
Statement
The current ASPEN guidelines define enteral autonomy as independence from parenteral support for 12 weeks with maintenance of adequate growth and hydration during that time period.
Open
Quotation
So the current Aspen guidelines that just came out with standardized definitions, the independence of uh parental support for 12 weeks and with maintenance of adequate growth and hydration during that time period.
Open
Statement
A patient is not truly off TPN unless they can actually grow off TPN; stopping TPN without achieving growth is a mistake.
Open
Quotation
Because it's one thing to turn off parenteral support, but, you know, you're not really off TPN or off parental support unless you can actually grow off TPN.
Open
Statement
A patient is not truly off TPN unless they can actually grow off TPN; stopping TPN without achieving growth is a mistake.
Open
Quotation
Because it's one thing to turn off parenteral support, but, you know, you're not really off TPN or off parental support unless you can actually grow off TPN.
Open
Statement
In the 2012 Squires/PIFCO paper, 50% of patients achieved enteral autonomy over 5-6 years, 25% died, and 25% received transplants.
Open
Statement
In the 2012 Squires/PIFCO paper, 50% of patients achieved enteral autonomy over 5-6 years, 25% died, and 25% received transplants.
Open
Quotation
Basically, 50% of patients achieved dental autonomy over 56 years, 25% died and 25% got transplanted.
Open
Quotation
Basically, 50% of patients achieved dental autonomy over 56 years, 25% died and 25% got transplanted.
Open
Statement
Recent papers from the last 5-6 years show that 60-80% of patients now achieve enteral autonomy, representing improved outcomes compared to historical data.
Open
Statement
Recent papers from the last 5-6 years show that 60-80% of patients now achieve enteral autonomy, representing improved outcomes compared to historical data.
Open
Statement
Small bowel length is an independently significant variable predicting adaptive capacity, which is intuitive since the majority of nutrient digestion and fluid absorption occurs in the small bowel.
Open
Statement
Small bowel length is an independently significant variable predicting adaptive capacity, which is intuitive since the majority of nutrient digestion and fluid absorption occurs in the small bowel.
Open
Statement
The ileum has a much greater capacity to adapt than the jejunum; patients with predominant ileal anatomy do better than those with predominant jejunal anatomy.
Open
Statement
The ileum has a much greater capacity to adapt than the jejunum; patients with predominant ileal anatomy do better than those with predominant jejunal anatomy.
Open
Statement
A full-term baby is born with approximately 160 centimeters of small bowel, which grows to about 425 centimeters by age 5 years, with the steepest growth rate between 35 weeks gestation and 6 months postnatal.
Open
Statement
A full-term baby is born with approximately 160 centimeters of small bowel, which grows to about 425 centimeters by age 5 years, with the steepest growth rate between 35 weeks gestation and 6 months postnatal.
Open
Quotation
When you're 5 years old, you have about 425 centimeters of small bowel, and the rate of growth on the curve is steepest between 35 weeks gestation to about 6 months postnatal.
Open
Quotation
When you're 5 years old, you have about 425 centimeters of small bowel, and the rate of growth on the curve is steepest between 35 weeks gestation to about 6 months postnatal.
Open
Statement
The presence or absence of the ileocecal valve is a predictor of adaptation, though the valve itself may not be the important factor; rather, loss of the valve typically accompanies loss of the terminal ileum, which is the bigger factor affecting adaptive potential.
Open
Statement
The presence or absence of the ileocecal valve is a predictor of adaptation, though the valve itself may not be the important factor; rather, loss of the valve typically accompanies loss of the terminal ileum, which is the bigger factor affecting adaptive potential.
Open
Quotation
Most people that lose their ileocecal valve also lose their terminal ileum, and I think that is the bigger factor as far as, uh, adaptive potential.
Open
Quotation
Most people that lose their ileocecal valve also lose their terminal ileum, and I think that is the bigger factor as far as, uh, adaptive potential.
Open
Quotation
So we've presented data that shows that if you've got the majority of your small bowel, then it almost doesn't matter how much colon you have, you have a probability of ventral autonomy somewhere between 85 to 100%.
Open
Statement
When a patient has the majority of their small bowel, it almost does not matter how much colon they have—probability of enteral autonomy is 85-100%.
Open
Statement
When a patient has the majority of their small bowel, it almost does not matter how much colon they have—probability of enteral autonomy is 85-100%.
Open
Quotation
So we've presented data that shows that if you've got the majority of your small bowel, then it almost doesn't matter how much colon you have, you have a probability of ventral autonomy somewhere between 85 to 100%.
Open
Statement
When small bowel remnant is less than 50% of expected length, the colon becomes vitally important, assuming an increasing role in energy absorption from short-chain fatty acids and fluid/salt absorption.
Open
Statement
When small bowel remnant is less than 50% of expected length, the colon becomes vitally important, assuming an increasing role in energy absorption from short-chain fatty acids and fluid/salt absorption.
Open
CAPS - The use of urine sodium to creatinine ratio as a marker of total body sodium in infants with intestinal failure - Sara Choi
Statement
Patients with stomas, even those without intestinal failure, run the risk of sodium depletion, which has a significant impact on their growth.
Open
Statement
Stomas and high stool losses are a large source of sodium bicarbonate as well as magnesium loss.
Open
Statement
Sodium status needs to be thought of, especially in the setting of a baby experiencing poor weight gain in the exposure to what is believed to be adequate calories.
Open
Statement
When sodium is replaced, it helps restore growth, but it doesn't allow catch up growth.
Open
Quotation
It's important to remember that when we replace sodium, it does help restore growth, but it doesn't allow catch up growth.
Open
Statement
It's important to track these patients serially so that a trend can be detected and sodium depletion can be avoided in the first place.
Open
Statement
If it becomes part of practice to order urine electrolytes at the time that someone's doing their TPN blood work, it's easy to calculate the fractional excretion of sodium ratio.
Open
Statement
Having potassium, chloride, and osmolality added to the urine electrolytes in addition to just the sodium gives a better picture of whether someone is truly sodium depleted.
Open
Statement
If potassium level is higher than sodium level in urine, that often indicates the aldosterone pathway is turned on.
Open
Quotation
If we see their potassium level higher than their sodium level, that often will tell you that the aldosterone pathway is turned on.
Open
Pediatric Vascular Access in Brief: Preoperative, Operative, and Postoperative Considerations
Statement
Traditional locking solutions are predominantly antibiotic locks, but they lead to development of bacterial resistance.
Open
Quotation
Antimicrobial, it doesn't have any resistance, and it'll kill bacteria that are both planktonic, meaning floating around in the, in the lumen, or sessile, meaning that they're embedded in a biofilm along the wall of the catheter.
Open
Statement
Ethanol locks are antimicrobial without resistance development and kill both planktonic bacteria (floating in the lumen) and sessile bacteria (embedded in biofilm along the catheter wall).
Open
Statement
Kite lock is a 4% tetrasodium EDTA solution that is antimicrobial without resistance, and has antifibrinolytic and antithrombotic properties.
Open
Statement
Kite lock is licensed for pediatric use in Canada, Europe, and Australia, but availability varies by region.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 4: Surgical Management, Part 1
Statement
The majority of pediatric short bowel syndrome cases present at birth due to neonatal causes: congenital GI anomalies or acquired conditions like necrotizing enterocolitis.
Open
Quotation
If you are thinking of reestablishing continuity, I feel very strongly that you have to deal with the size discrepancy.
Open
Statement
When reestablishing bowel continuity, size discrepancy between bowel ends must be addressed or a functional obstruction will result even if the anastomosis is patent.
Open
Statement
Size discrepancy can be managed by resection to a more appropriate caliber, tapering enteroplasty, or serial transverse enteroplasty (STEP) depending on available bowel length.
Open
Statement
Gastroschisis patients tend to not do as well with STEP procedures regardless of whether atresia is present; among STEP procedures performed over the years, gastroschisis cases consistently had worse outcomes.
Open
Quotation
If, and if I look at the step procedures that I've done over the years, the ones that tend to not do as well or tend to always be the gastroschisis.
Open
Quotation
I don't usually do that operation anyway unless the bowel is an adequate diameter to make it worthwhile, and in my head over the years, it's always been about 5 centimeters anyway.
Open
Statement
STEP procedure is not usually performed unless bowel is at least 5 centimeters dilated to make it worthwhile.
Open
Statement
In scenarios where bowel is not adequately dilated, options include resecting bulbs with tapering enteroplasty, establishing continuity if possible, or leaving bowel disconnected with distal feeding tube access to grow the distal bowel before reconnection.
Open
Statement
For STEP, a transverse supraumbilical abdominal incision is used, all adhesions are lysed, and the entire intestinal tract is laid out from top to bottom to understand anatomy and maximize mobility.
Open
Statement
The anti-mesenteric surface of the bowel is marked with surgical pen after drying with a lap sponge; maintaining this alignment prevents longitudinal twisting of the bowel during stapling.
Open
Statement
Bowel length is measured before the procedure using 30 silk dipped in mineral oil; caliber and length of the dilated segment to be stepped are also recorded.
Open
Statement
An endo-GIA stapler is preferred over an open GIA stapler because the smaller cartridge head is more amenable in smaller patients.
Open
Statement
Staple lines are applied perpendicular to the mesentery at 90° and 270° (3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions if mesenteric vessels are at 0°).
Open
Statement
A vascular (white) cartridge with 2.5 mm staples that crimp to 1 mm is used; this is more appropriate for younger patients' bowel thickness and prevents leaks that occurred with classic blue loads in early experience.
Open
Statement
Target caliber for STEP is 1.5 cm in babies and 2 to 2.5 cm in older infants or children; making it too narrow risks obstruction, especially in patients with borderline motility.
Open
Statement
Before firing the stapler, measurements are taken to both the end of the bowel and to the side to ensure proper caliber is maintained throughout the length.
Open
Statement
A U-stitch with 4-0 PDS is placed in the crotch of each staple line to prevent potential leaks at that point.
Open
Statement
The procedure is performed with a partner, alternating sides of the bowel, working down the length; 45 mm cartridges are most versatile, but 30 mm and 60 mm cartridges may be needed depending on bowel diameter.
Open
Statement
At the top and bottom of the STEP segment, an additional oblique staple line is fired to taper the transition and avoid a 'dog ear' blind loop that can dilate over time.
Open
Statement
The STEP procedure is performed with staple lines perpendicular to the mesentery (90° and 270°), not in the anti-mesenteric to mesenteric orientation (180° and 0°).
Open
Statement
The duodenum is not stepped; the STEP procedure starts where the bowel begins to dilate, usually distal to the duodenum.
Open
Statement
Avoiding staple lines in the duodenum allows proximal access if emergency reoperation is needed for a leak.
Open
Statement
If duodenal narrowing is needed, a stapler is used to partially narrow the lateral side away from the bile duct and ampulla; plication sutures are not used because they usually fail.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 4: Surgical Management, Part 1
Statement
The majority of pediatric short bowel syndrome cases present at birth due to neonatal causes: congenital GI anomalies or acquired conditions like necrotizing enterocolitis.
Open
Quotation
If you are thinking of reestablishing continuity, I feel very strongly that you have to deal with the size discrepancy.
Open
Statement
When reestablishing bowel continuity, size discrepancy between bowel ends must be addressed or a functional obstruction will result even if the anastomosis is patent.
Open
Statement
Size discrepancy can be managed by resection to a more appropriate caliber, tapering enteroplasty, or serial transverse enteroplasty (STEP) depending on available bowel length.
Open
Statement
Gastroschisis patients tend to not do as well with STEP procedures regardless of whether atresia is present; among STEP procedures performed over the years, gastroschisis cases consistently had worse outcomes.
Open
Quotation
If, and if I look at the step procedures that I've done over the years, the ones that tend to not do as well or tend to always be the gastroschisis.
Open
Statement
STEP procedure is not usually performed unless bowel is at least 5 centimeters dilated to make it worthwhile.
Open
Quotation
I don't usually do that operation anyway unless the bowel is an adequate diameter to make it worthwhile, and in my head over the years, it's always been about 5 centimeters anyway.
Open
Statement
In scenarios where bowel is not adequately dilated, options include resecting bulbs with tapering enteroplasty, establishing continuity if possible, or leaving bowel disconnected with distal feeding tube access to grow the distal bowel before reconnection.
Open
Statement
For STEP, a transverse supraumbilical abdominal incision is used, all adhesions are lysed, and the entire intestinal tract is laid out from top to bottom to understand anatomy and maximize mobility.
Open
Statement
The anti-mesenteric surface of the bowel is marked with surgical pen after drying with a lap sponge; maintaining this alignment prevents longitudinal twisting of the bowel during stapling.
Open
Statement
Bowel length is measured before the procedure using 30 silk dipped in mineral oil; caliber and length of the dilated segment to be stepped are also recorded.
Open
Statement
An endo-GIA stapler is preferred over an open GIA stapler because the smaller cartridge head is more amenable in smaller patients.
Open
Statement
Staple lines are applied perpendicular to the mesentery at 90° and 270° (3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions if mesenteric vessels are at 0°).
Open
Statement
A vascular (white) cartridge with 2.5 mm staples that crimp to 1 mm is used; this is more appropriate for younger patients' bowel thickness and prevents leaks that occurred with classic blue loads in early experience.
Open
Statement
Target caliber for STEP is 1.5 cm in babies and 2 to 2.5 cm in older infants or children; making it too narrow risks obstruction, especially in patients with borderline motility.
Open
Statement
Before firing the stapler, measurements are taken to both the end of the bowel and to the side to ensure proper caliber is maintained throughout the length.
Open
Statement
A U-stitch with 4-0 PDS is placed in the crotch of each staple line to prevent potential leaks at that point.
Open
Statement
The procedure is performed with a partner, alternating sides of the bowel, working down the length; 45 mm cartridges are most versatile, but 30 mm and 60 mm cartridges may be needed depending on bowel diameter.
Open
Statement
At the top and bottom of the STEP segment, an additional oblique staple line is fired to taper the transition and avoid a 'dog ear' blind loop that can dilate over time.
Open
Statement
The STEP procedure is performed with staple lines perpendicular to the mesentery (90° and 270°), not in the anti-mesenteric to mesenteric orientation (180° and 0°).
Open
Statement
The duodenum is not stepped; the STEP procedure starts where the bowel begins to dilate, usually distal to the duodenum.
Open
Statement
Avoiding staple lines in the duodenum allows proximal access if emergency reoperation is needed for a leak.
Open
Statement
If duodenal narrowing is needed, a stapler is used to partially narrow the lateral side away from the bile duct and ampulla; plication sutures are not used because they usually fail.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 4: Surgical Management, Part 2
Quotation
I think we have to remember that the biggest benefit of the step, for instance, is the fact that you're tapering the bowel and reestablishing a more normal caliber to improve motility.
Open
Statement
The biggest benefit of the STEP procedure is tapering the bowel and reestablishing a more normal caliber to improve motility.
Open
Statement
It can take up to 6 months before you actually start to see a significant improvement in absorptive capacity after STEP.
Open
Quotation
It can take up to 6 months before you actually start to see a significant improvement in absorptive capacity.
Open
Statement
Improvements in absorptive capacity are measured with fecal fat, alpha-1 antitrypsin clearance, xylose absorption, and citrulline levels as they rise over time.
Open
Statement
The reason absorptive improvement takes time is that inflamed, sick, leaky mucosa in the setting of bacterial overgrowth needs to heal.
Open
Statement
Bleeding at STEP staple lines is an underreported complication that is really difficult to manage in some cases.
Open
Quotation
My hypothesis is that this is a microbiome problem. I think you have a pro-inflammatory environment.
Open
Statement
Staple line bleeding is hypothesized to be a microbiome problem occurring in a pro-inflammatory environment.
Open
Statement
Staple line bleeding tends to occur in type 2 anatomy, which is small bowel to colonic remnant in the absence of an intact colon ileocecal valve.
Open
Statement
Pathology of staple line ulcers shows non-specific inflammation with no vasculitis, no viral elements, and no obvious ischemia.
Open
Quotation
It's non-specific inflammation. There's no vasculitis, there's no viral elements, there's no obvious ischemia, and the management can be super difficult.
Open
Statement
Most referrals for intestinal rehabilitation have had multiple operations before coming to the specialist center.
Open
Statement
Optimizing a child's anatomy may not be conducive to just one operation; you have to set yourself up sometimes planning for the next case.
Open
Quotation
Keep your eye on the horizon, which is what can we do to try to optimize this kid's anatomy. And if you think about that plan, it may not be conducive to just one operation today.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 6: Cholestasis
Quotation
Institutionally defined it as a conjugated bilirubin greater than 3 mg per deciliter or 50 micromoles per liter sustained for 2 weeks and not associated with a septic event.
Open
Statement
Cincinnati Children's Hospital institutionally defined cholestasis as conjugated bilirubin greater than 3 mg/dL or 50 micromoles/L sustained for 2 weeks and not associated with a septic event.
Open
Statement
A 2021 JPN publication defined cholestasis as conjugated bilirubin around 2 mg/dL or 34 micromoles/L for 2 weeks, not associated with a septic event.
Open
Statement
In young children, intestinal failure-associated liver disease presents as cholestatic liver disease, whereas in adolescents and adults it tends to be steatosis (fatty deposition).
Open
Statement
Prematurity is not modifiable by the clinical team, but lack of enteral feeding, sepsis, and TPN components are modifiable risk factors.
Open
Quotation
Now, prematurity, we as clinicians, as a team, we don't have much control over that. But the other factors are modifiable, and we can have an impact on that.
Open
Statement
Prevention of cholestasis requires aggressive introduction of enteral feeding to establish enterohepatic circulation and surgical procedures to optimize anatomy for feed delivery.
Open
Statement
Two strategies for reversing cholestasis are dose restriction and change of lipid composition.
Open
Statement
Conventional intralipid (soybean-based) produces prostaglandins and eicosanoids that are pro-inflammatory when metabolized.
Open
Statement
SMOF lipid promotes bile flow, is hepatoprotective, and can be delivered at conventional dose to achieve somatic growth and provide neurologic nutrients while protecting the liver.
Open
Statement
SMOF lipid does not contain enough arachidonic acid, so dose restriction of SMOF can lead to essential fatty acid deficiency.
Open
Statement
When SMOF is delivered at conventional dosing, no patients develop essential fatty acid deficiency.
Open
Statement
Conventional dosing for lipids is settling around 2.5 g/kg/day, but nutrition guidelines for preterm infants and babies state 3-4 g/kg/day.
Open
Quotation
My opinion is that a billy of 2 is not by any stretch advanced liver disease, and it's not dangerous, and it's usually transient. So I personally would not change the lipid emulsion out of Billy to.
Open
Statement
A bilirubin of 2 mg/dL is not advanced liver disease, is not dangerous, and is usually transient; Dr. Wales would not change lipid emulsion at this threshold.
Open
Statement
During secondary surgical or autologous reconstruction procedures, a liver biopsy is commonly taken to provide an up-to-date microscopic snapshot.
Open
Statement
Liver function and biochemistry are followed routinely as inpatient and at outpatient clinic visits.
Open
Statement
Elastography (FibroScan) is available for monitoring but is good for mild/no fibrosis or very advanced fibrosis; it is not as sensitive for patients with intermediate fibrosis.
Open
Statement
Follow-up visit frequency for children on TPN at home ranges from every 1-4 months depending on patient stability; actively adapting patients may be seen more frequently due to rapid changes being made.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 7: Refeeding in a neonatal patient
Statement
One goal in intestinal failure management is to establish normal feeding habits that promote gut function and optimize quality of life including social aspects of eating.
Open
Quotation
Even if a kid has a complicated disease process, one of our goals as a team is to try to establish the most normal feeding habits we can that not only promote gut function and everything else, but also to optimize quality of life and the importance of the social aspects of eating that we all experience with our families and friends.
Open
Statement
When initiating feeds in patients with high stoma output, losses increase initially, but this must be pushed through in a hospital setting where volume replacement is available.
Open
Statement
In short bowel syndrome, protein absorption is fairly well preserved, so the benefit of completely broken-down protein formulas (free amino acids or hydrolysates) is primarily from an allergy perspective.
Open
Quotation
In the world of short bowel syndrome, protein absorption is actually fairly well preserved. So it seems like the benefit is from an allergy perspective.
Open
Statement
Many formulas have moved from predominant long-chain fat to increasing MCT components, but long-chain fat is a stronger driver for adaptation.
Open
Quotation
Over the last several years, a lot of the formulas have moved from predominant long chain fat to increasing in MCT components. But long chain fat is a stronger driver for adaptation, and I personally haven't really bought into that.
Open
Statement
One milliliter of parenteral nutrition is not isocaloric with one milliliter of formula, and advancing beyond 100-120 per kilo creates problems with not only calories and protein but also sodium and calcium due to compositional differences.
Open
Quotation
You're right, and they're not isocaloric, and so 1 mL of PN is not 1 mL of formula. So if you keep going beyond 100 per kilo or 120 per kilo, you, you have a problem. And kids, not only will they take a calorie protein hit, they'll take, you start to get into problems with sodium and calcium as well, because the composition in the milk is not the same as what's in the parental solution.
Open
Statement
Feeding options include bolus (oral or gastric via tube), continuous (post-pyloric tube or surgical J-tube), or a hybrid model with gastric bolus component plus continuous component (gastric or post-pyloric).
Open
Statement
Bolus feeds are preferred as the default approach; patients should fail bolus feeds before being placed on continuous feeds as the sole delivery method.
Open
Quotation
Because I like bolus feeds as a default, I'd like, I like to see a patient fail bolus feeds before they end up on continuous feeds as a sole delivery remote.
Open
Statement
Continuous feeds can be used as a supplemental approach, with bolus feeds during the day and continuous supplementation overnight.
Open
Statement
Even when oral feeding is non-nutritive, it is important for skill development; children who never learn to suck, swallow, and process food by mouth will not eat solids later and will remain dependent on tube feeding.
Open
Quotation
One thing I just want to say about oral feeding is that even in the scenario where it's really non-nutritive. I think it's important for people to sort of look at that oral feeding, not so much as an internal nutrition perspective, but more of a skill development perspective that they never learn how to eat by mouth and suck and swallow and process, then they won't eat solids later when you want them to, and you're stuck basically with tube feeding on an older child.
Open
Quotation
Yeah, and it, it goes to the point that we've made in a previous podcast about having a plan and and resisting the temptation to get it all done in one. Operation. It's all about optimizing the patient for the next step, but you don't have to do it all in one go.
Open
Statement
The technical benefit of distal feeding is that size discrepancy at anastomosis is significantly improved because the bowel has been used.
Open
Statement
A G-tube provides versatility for nutrition supplementation, medication delivery, and venting for gassy or bloated children to improve enteral tolerance.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation Episode 8: Refeeding of an Older Patient
Quotation
The benefit in the curse in a patient like that is that they do know how to eat. They've established that that behavior.
Open
Statement
The benefit and curse in older patients with bowel loss is that they already know how to eat and have established that behavior.
Open
Statement
Even if you cannot cure the patient and get them off TPN, it is important to make compromises to optimize quality of life.
Open
Quotation
So even if you can't cure this patient and get them off TPN. It's important to make compromises to optimize quality of life the best you can.
Open
Quotation
The general strategy is you want to push the macronutrient modules of protein and fat are well tolerated. Most of these kids don't tolerate simple sugars very well.
Open
Statement
The general strategy is to push the macronutrient modules of protein and fat, which are well tolerated.
Open
Quotation
So the general concept of pushing solids. And minimizing fluid intake helps. They don't tend to dump as much smaller meals more frequently of solids separated from their liquids to a certain extent, and minimization of simple sugars.
Open
Statement
The general concept of pushing solids and minimizing fluid intake helps prevent dumping.
Open
Statement
Smaller meals more frequently of solids separated from liquids, with minimization of simple sugars, reduces dumping tendency.
Open
Statement
Patients who have transitioned off TPN often come back with problems when diet history reveals they have gotten loose with diet choices, particularly increased sugars.
Open
Statement
Minimizing sugars reduces symptoms related to bacterial overgrowth, making patients less bloated and gassy.
Open
Statement
In older children with fluid losses (by stoma or other source), if they are on parenteral support, some fluid can be replaced IV.
Open
Statement
As you try to get patients off IV support, keeping them hydrated by replenishing losses through enteral replacements is important.
Open
Quotation
For transport requires sodium and glucose, and so your solution that you're replacing with has to contain some glucose and some salt.
Open
Statement
Transport requires sodium and glucose, so the rehydration solution must contain some glucose and some salt.
Open
Statement
There are homemade recipes for oral rehydration solutions and over-the-counter preparations available.
Open
Quotation
Some people will resort to things like Gatorade and stuff like that, but that doesn't always work that well. It's actually too much sugar in it.
Open
Statement
Gatorade does not always work well for rehydration because it has too much sugar in it.
Open
Quotation
It is true some kids end up back on parental support, you know, to get through puberty. And then when you're not growing anymore as an adult, often that borderline or marginal gut function is enough to sustain them.
Open
Statement
When patients are not growing anymore as adults, borderline or marginal gut function is often enough to sustain them.
Open
Statement
Patients need to be monitored for micronutrient deficiencies after getting off TPN, as this is when they often get into trouble.
Open
Statement
Long-term growth and outcome need to be followed, highlighting the importance of multidisciplinary teams.
Open
Statement
Weight is tracked as a major metric for growth, but it has to be balanced with height.
Open
Statement
What is commonly seen in this population is round babies where their weight for height is elevated.
Open
Quotation
What we commonly see in this type of population is. Round babies where their weight for height is elevated
Open
Statement
There is increasing data looking at quality of weight: how much is fat weight versus lean body mass.
Open
Advancements in Pediatric Intestinal Failure: Innovative Therapies and Improved Outcomes
Quotation
They go anywhere from mild cholestasis to more profound steatosis, which we see in older children or adolescents and adults, with ongoing inflammation, fibrosis, and ultimately cirrhosis leading to death or the need for transplantation.
Open
Statement
Liver disease associated with intestinal failure ranges from mild cholestasis to profound steatosis (in older children/adolescents/adults), with progression through inflammation, fibrosis, and ultimately cirrhosis leading to death or transplantation.
Open
Quotation
There's some patient factors related to prematurity, uh, lack of enteral feeding, the inability to feed because of the anatomy or recurrent infections, sepsis, which can affect the liver directly and indirectly. And the components of TPN.
Open
Statement
Risk factors for intestinal failure-associated liver disease include prematurity, lack of enteral feeding, inability to feed due to anatomy, recurrent infections/sepsis, and components of TPN.
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Quotation
Intestinal rehab teams improve the outcome of children because of integration of care, improved communication, better continuity.
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Statement
Intestinal rehabilitation teams improve outcomes through integration of care, improved communication, and better continuity.
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Statement
Intestinal rehabilitation programs rely heavily on speech, language, and occupational therapy specialists.
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Quotation
While our patients are on TPN, we're trying to mitigate the progression of liver disease, sepsis, vascular complications.
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Statement
While patients are on TPN, the goal is to mitigate progression of liver disease, sepsis, and vascular complications.
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Statement
Families of intestinal failure patients manage significant tasks at home including running TPN pumps, adding vitamins, programming pumps, recording ins and outs, managing G-tubes, and managing stomas.
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Quotation
What we ask our Families to do at home is significant. These patients go home on TPN. The families run the pump, add vitamins to the TPN, program the pump, record ins and outs, manage the G tube, manage the stoma.
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Quotation
We educate and empower our parents because we've all seen high-quality families that over time demonstrate evidence of burnout.
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Statement
High-quality families demonstrate evidence of burnout over time despite education and empowerment efforts.
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Quotation
There's literature that shows the improvement of outcomes with programs in general. You see an improved survival related to liver dysfunction, decreased septic episodes, reduction in central line complications, reduced ICU admissions, and the patients that were listed for transplant are coming off the list because of improved status. Mortality has gone down.
Open
Statement
Literature shows intestinal rehabilitation programs improve survival related to liver dysfunction, decrease septic episodes, reduce central line complications, reduce ICU admissions, and enable patients listed for transplant to come off the list due to improved status.
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Statement
Mortality in intestinal failure has decreased with intestinal rehabilitation programs.
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Statement
Lipids in parenteral nutrition are a source of essential fatty acids, a non-protein energy source important for growth, and fatty acids have a major role in cellular pathways.
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Quotation
Lipids are a source of essential fatty acids. They're a non-protein energy source important for growth. Fatty acids have a major role in cellular pathways.
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Quotation
Historically, most of the lipid emulsions in North America are soybean-based, so they have a high phytosterol content. A high omega 6 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid content and low antioxidant content.
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Statement
Historically, most lipid emulsions in North America are soybean-based with high phytosterol content, high omega-6 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid content, and low antioxidant content.
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Statement
Prolonged soybean-based lipid exposure is associated with deterioration of liver function, specifically cholestasis.
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Statement
For every day an infant is exposed to soybean lipid dosed at greater than 2.5 g/kg/day, there is a 3% increase in the odds ratio of developing advanced liver disease.
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Quotation
This is a paper that we wrote several years ago that showed that for every day that an infant is exposed to soybean lipid dosed at greater than 2.5 g per kilo per day, which is more conventional dosing. That is associated with a 3% increase in the odds ratio of developing advanced liver disease.
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Quotation
The first generation were basically the soybean-based lipids, rich in omega 6UUFA. That would be intralipids, and that's been around for 40 years and it's saved a lot of lives.
Open
Statement
First-generation lipid emulsions were soybean-based, rich in omega-6 PUFA (such as Intralipid), and have been in use for 40 years.
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Statement
Third-generation lipid emulsions reduce omega-6 component and change the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio by adding omega-3 lipids.
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Quotation
The 3rd generation lipids attempt to not only reduce the omega 6 component, but to change the omega 6 to the omega 3 ratio with the addition of omega 3 lipids.
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Statement
Omega-6 lipids are metabolized to arachidonic acid, which produces leukotrienes and prostaglandins with a more pro-inflammatory profile.
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Quotation
Omega 6 lipids are metabolized to arachidonic acid. Which produce leukotrienes and prostaglandins of the more pro-inflammatory profile. The omega 3 lipids are metabolized through EPA and DHA and lead to the production of cytokines that have a less inflammatory profile.
Open
Statement
Omega-3 lipids are metabolized through EPA and DHA, leading to production of cytokines with a less inflammatory profile.
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Quotation
Omega 3 lipids improve bile flow because they decrease lithogenicity of the bile. They decrease steatosis. They stimulate improved beta oxidation and clearance, and they lower oxidative stress and support immune function.
Open
Statement
Omega-3 lipids improve bile flow by decreasing lithogenicity of bile, decreasing steatosis, stimulating improved beta-oxidation and clearance, lowering oxidative stress, and supporting immune function.
Open
Statement
The two main strategies for improving lipids in parenteral nutrition are lipid minimization and change in composition.
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Statement
Literature dating back decades shows that restricting exposure to soybean lipid improves cholestasis, particularly when dosed at 1 g/kg/day or less.
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Quotation
There's a lot of literature dating back even decades that show that if you restrict exposure to soybean lipid, you improve cholestasis. When you dose the lipid at 1 g per kilo per day or less.
Open
Statement
In preterm babies, fat is important for growth, especially for neurocognitive development, creating a risk of essential fatty acid deficiency if lipid dosing is restricted too much.
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Quotation
The problem with this in preterm babies is that fat is important for growth, especially for neurocognitive development. So there is the risk of essential fatty acid deficiency if we restrict lipid dosing too much.
Open
Quotation
DHA and arachidonic acid are important for retinal and brain development. None of the lipid emulsions today were designed for premature babies. They were all designed for adults in a critical care setting.
Open
Statement
None of the current lipid emulsions were designed for premature babies; they were all designed for adults in critical care settings.
Open
Statement
Work is currently underway with industry to create a lipid emulsion specifically tailored to preterm babies with higher arachidonic acid content.
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Quotation
We're currently in work with industry to create a lipid emulsion that's more specifically tailored to preterm babies that has a higher content of arachidonic acid.
Open
Statement
Central lines are the lifeline for intestinal failure patients, and without venous access, families cannot be supported.
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Quotation
So our patients with central lines, it's literally their lifeline. And without venous access, we can't support our families. They are at risk for complications, infections, blockages, thrombosis, and breakage.
Open
Statement
Central lines are at risk for complications including infections, blockages, thrombosis, and breakage.
Open
Statement
In the United States, there are approximately 240,000 central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) annually, with each costing about $30,000, totaling approximately $2 billion per year nationwide.
Open
Quotation
In the United States, there's about 240,000 collapses in the United States on an annual basis. The cost of one of these is about $30,000 about $2 billion a year nationwide.
Open
Statement
4% tetrasodium EDTA (Kitelock) is antithrombotic, anti-fibrinolytic, and antimicrobial, satisfying all three criteria important for a good lock solution.
Open
Statement
The team pivoted to 4% tetrasodium EDTA (Taurolock/Kitelock) when ethanol became too expensive and difficult to obtain.
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Quotation
We landed on 4% tetrosodium EDTA or kite lock as it's known in the trade name, which is an antithrombolytic, anti-fibrinolytic, and antimicrobial. So, it satisfies all three criteria that are important for a good lock solution.
Open
Quotation
It's licensed in Europe, it's licensed in Australia. It's not available in the United States.
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Statement
A multi-center randomized trial of Kitelock versus heparin went live 4 weeks ago and is actively recruiting patients, with results expected within the next year.
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Quotation
I'm happy to say that we have finally launched our multi-center randomized trial of kitelock versus heparin, which went live 4 weeks ago, and we're actively recruiting patients. In the next year, we'll have the results of the trial, and we can get the kitelock into the United States.
Open
Statement
In short bowel syndrome, there are three anatomical subtypes: Type 1 (high jejunostomy), Type 2 (loss of distal small bowel/ileum and part of colon with small bowel-colonic anastomosis), and Type 3 (loss of mid-small bowel with retained ileum and intact colon).
Open
Quotation
In short bowel syndrome, we have 3 anatomical subtypes. Type 1 is the high L piginostomy. Type 2, where you've lost your distal small bowel, your ileum, and part of your colon, and there's a small bowel colonic anastomosis. And then type 3 where you've lost the mid-part of your small bowel, but you still have some retained ileum and an intact colon.
Open
Quotation
The most common anatomical subtype in pediatrics is type 2. These patients struggle. Type 1 and type 2 struggle because they lack an ileum.
Open
Statement
Native GLP-2 hormone has a half-life of 7 minutes, making it impractical for clinical use.
Open
Quotation
The problem is that the native hormone has a half-life of 7 minutes. So it's not practical. So it's been altered, one amino acid alteration to an analog called taglutide. That has a half-life of 2 hours and it's given once a day subcutaneous injection.
Open
Statement
GLP-2 has been altered by one amino acid to create an analog called teduglutide, which has a half-life of 2 hours and is given once daily by subcutaneous injection.
Open
Statement
A multi-center phase 3 study published in 2020 at Cincinnati Children's showed patients receiving teduglutide had a 40% reduction in TPN fluid and calorie requirements over a six-month period.
Open
Quotation
What we see in patients that received taglutide, a 40% reduction in TPN fluid and calorie requirements over a six-month period. And 70% of patients that received the analog achieved the study endpoint, which was a 20% reduction in TPN requirements.
Open
Statement
70% of patients who received teduglutide achieved the study endpoint of a 20% reduction in TPN requirements.
Open
Quotation
It's licensed for children that are greater than 1 year of age. Already, it's made a big difference in our practice and even kids with very extreme anatomy have been able to get off TPN as a result of being able to replace this hormone.
Open
Statement
Teduglutide has made a big difference in practice, with even children with very extreme anatomy able to get off TPN.
Open
Statement
Another GLP-2 analog, apraglutide, has a longer half-life and can be given once weekly.
Open
Quotation
Another GLP-2 analog, a proglutide, has a longer half-life and can be given once a week. That's currently being studied. And what we've shown is that it actually works even better than taglutide. You get more bowel lengthening with a proglutide compared to glutide.
Open
Statement
These interventions (optimized lipids, central line infection prevention, GLP-2 analogs) have led to a decrease in transplantation since 2008.
Open
Quotation
These interventions have led to a decrease in transplantation since 2008. In large part because of the successes of intestinal rehabilitation, the outcomes of transplant at 5 years are about 65%. Whatever we can do to avoid transplant and lifelong immunosuppression, that is our goal.
Open
Statement
The decrease in transplantation is in large part because of the successes of intestinal rehabilitation.
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Quotation
We have lots of exciting medical and surgical options available to us, but this should all be done under the umbrella of a multidisciplinary team.
Open
Paul's statements about Intestinal Rehab 468 statements
Open the Intestinal Rehab collection →
Intestinal rehabilitation: What is intestinal rehab? - Episode 1
Quotation
Well, let's go back one step before that and sort of define what is intestinal failure because that sort of leads into who's going to benefit from an intestinal rehab program.
Open
Quotation
It it's, it's really a functional problem. Essentially, when someone's gut for whatever the diagnosis, whatever the reason, their gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, calories to support survival and in the in the case of children, growth, which is a big distinction between adults and children.
Open
Statement
Intestinal failure is when gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, and calories to support survival and, in children, growth.
Open
Statement
An intestinal rehabilitation program is a multidisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of their specialized nutrition and other associated needs, as defined in recent ASPEN guidelines.
Open
Quotation
So, um, an intestinal rehabilitation program, as we defined also in these Aspen guidelines that just came out, is a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of Their specialized nutrition and other associated needs that they have.
Open
Statement
The intestinal rehabilitation approach streamlines care and improves communication with families and between care providers.
Open
Statement
Causes of intestinal failure divide into three categories: short bowel syndrome, motility disorders, and congenital enteropathies.
Open
Quotation
Patients that are gonna come to intestinal rehab program have intestinal failure, and we can divide the causes of intestinal failure into three categories.
Open
Quotation
There's short bowel syndrome, which by far is the most common category in pediatric patients with intestinal failure, and causes of short bowel syndrome are usually related to diagnoses of or, or disorders of the neonate.
Open
Statement
Short bowel syndrome is by far the most common category of intestinal failure in pediatric patients.
Open
Statement
Causes of short bowel syndrome include congenital anomalies (intestinal atresia, malrotation, volvulus, gastroschisis, long segment Hirschsprung disease) and acquired neonatal diseases (necrotizing enterocolitis).
Open
Statement
Motility disorders occur when abnormalities of intestinal muscle or the nerves controlling that muscle prevent coordinated propulsion of food and stool.
Open
Quotation
So if we think of the intestine like a pipe, and that pipe is made of muscle that contracts in a coordinated way to push food and stool from one end to the other, you can have abnormalities of the muscle itself, or of the nerves that control that muscle. And the bowel is unable to push things through in a coordinated way.
Open
Statement
Congenital enteropathies are conditions where patients have all their bowel but the mucosal lining does not digest or absorb properly.
Open
Quotation
Enteropathies or the congenital diarrheas, and these are conditions where the patient has all of their bowel, but the mucosa, the inside lining that, that absorbs, uh, digests and absorbs doesn't work.
Open
Quotation
The reason it's important to at least identify these three categories is that some patients will have elements of 12, or 3 of the categories, the way they present.
Open
Statement
Some patients have elements of two or all three categories of intestinal failure in their presentation.
Open
Statement
Most intestinal failure patients are infants or babies, but some older pediatric patients develop intestinal failure from inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn disease complications, trauma, malignancy, or vascular thrombosis.
Open
Quotation
But now what we're seeing is we have kids that have developed chronic comorbidities, that comorbidities that never, we didn't really see to the same extent because they didn't live long enough.
Open
Statement
Long-term survivors now develop chronic comorbidities not previously seen to the same extent because patients did not live long enough, including renal dysfunction, metabolic bone disease, neurocognitive issues, and quality of life problems.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 1: What is intestinal rehabilitation?
Quotation
Well, let's go back one step before that and sort of define what is intestinal failure because that sort of leads into who's going to benefit from an intestinal rehab program.
Open
Quotation
It it's, it's really a functional problem. Essentially, when someone's gut for whatever the diagnosis, whatever the reason, their gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, calories to support survival and in the in the case of children, growth, which is a big distinction between adults and children.
Open
Statement
Intestinal failure is a functional problem where gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, and calories to support survival and, in children, growth.
Open
Quotation
So, um, an intestinal rehabilitation program, as we defined also in these Aspen guidelines that just came out, is a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of Their specialized nutrition and other associated needs that they have.
Open
Statement
An intestinal rehabilitation program is a multidisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of their specialized nutrition and other associated needs, as defined in recent ASPEN guidelines.
Open
Statement
Intestinal rehabilitation streamlines care and improves communication between family and care providers through an amalgamation of experts providing holistic, comprehensive, coordinated care.
Open
Quotation
Patients that are gonna come to intestinal rehab program have intestinal failure, and we can divide the causes of intestinal failure into three categories.
Open
Statement
Causes of short bowel syndrome are usually related to neonatal disorders including congenital anomalies (intestinal atresia, malrotation, volvulus, gastroschisis, long segment Hirschsprung disease) or acquired diseases (necrotizing enterocolitis).
Open
Statement
Short bowel syndrome is by far the most common category of intestinal failure in pediatric patients.
Open
Quotation
There's short bowel syndrome, which by far is the most common category in pediatric patients with intestinal failure, and causes of short bowel syndrome are usually related to diagnoses of or, or disorders of the neonate.
Open
Statement
Motility disorders occur when abnormalities of the intestinal muscle itself or the nerves controlling that muscle prevent coordinated propulsion of food and stool, making patients dependent on intravenous support.
Open
Quotation
So if we think of the intestine like a pipe, and that pipe is made of muscle that contracts in a coordinated way to push food and stool from one end to the other, you can have abnormalities of the muscle itself, or of the nerves that control that muscle. And the bowel is unable to push things through in a coordinated way.
Open
Quotation
Enteropathies or the congenital diarrheas, and these are conditions where the patient has all of their bowel, but the mucosa, the inside lining that, that absorbs, uh, digests and absorbs doesn't work.
Open
Statement
Enteropathies or congenital diarrheas are conditions where the patient has all of their bowel but the mucosal lining that digests and absorbs does not work, leading to hypersecretion and profuse fluid losses.
Open
Statement
Some patients will have elements of two or all three categories of intestinal failure; for example, gastroschisis can involve short bowel, inflammation affecting absorption, and motility issues.
Open
Statement
Although most intestinal failure patients are infants or babies, older pediatric patients can develop intestinal failure from inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease complications, trauma, malignancy, or vascular thrombosis leading to gut loss.
Open
Statement
Improved survival has revealed chronic comorbidities not previously seen to the same extent because patients did not live long enough, including renal dysfunction, metabolic bone disease, neurocognitive issues, and quality of life concerns.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 2: Overwhelming intestinal damage, Part 1
Statement
The outlook for preterm infants with short bowel syndrome has changed over the last two decades as a result of advances in medical and surgical care.
Open
Statement
A more aggressive approach to surgical resection has accompanied improved outcomes in short bowel syndrome.
Open
Statement
Intestinal transplant is not experimental therapy; it is part of the continuum of therapy for a child with short bowel syndrome.
Open
Statement
In the acute phase with infarcted gut, the clinical picture is usually one of overwhelming sepsis, and even after resection leaving ultra-short bowel, patients are rocky and unstable due to sepsis, SIRS, or septic experience.
Open
Statement
In the very acute time, the primary cause of death is sepsis and multi-organ failure.
Open
Statement
In the intermediate and longer term, complications include intestinal failure-associated liver disease, recurrent sepsis, or line problems, which historically led to death or transplant.
Open
Statement
Much of the success seen in the last two decades is because clinicians are way better at preventing sepsis and liver disease.
Open
Statement
Babies born with duodenal atresia or very proximal jejunal atresia are born with elevated direct or conjugated bilirubins, supporting the concept that an undecompressed foregut affects liver function.
Open
Statement
Liver function is affected by multiple factors: prematurity, sepsis, choice of TPN, and presence or absence of enteral nutrition.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 2: Overwhelming intestinal damage, Part 2
Statement
In Toronto, ultra-short gut is classified as less than 20% of expected bowel length for age; in a term baby that corresponds to 20–30 centimeters.
Open
Statement
In Toronto, ultra-short gut is classified as less than 20% of expected bowel length for age; in a term baby that corresponds to 20–30 centimeters.
Open
Statement
Overall survival in the ultra-short gut population in the current era of management is over 90%, actually 90–95%.
Open
Statement
Overall survival in the ultra-short gut population in the current era of management is over 90%, actually 90–95%.
Open
Statement
Ultra-short gut patients who reached enteral autonomy required multiple nutritional supplements but were able to grow within normal parameters.
Open
Statement
Ultra-short gut patients who reached enteral autonomy required multiple nutritional supplements but were able to grow within normal parameters.
Open
Quotation
There should be more optimism in general with this population just because our ability to mitigate those long term, you know, risks. Of death from liver disease or sepsis have been transformed in the current era of management.
Open
Quotation
There should be more optimism in general with this population just because our ability to mitigate those long term, you know, risks. Of death from liver disease or sepsis have been transformed in the current era of management.
Open
Statement
Long-term risks of death from liver disease or sepsis in ultra-short gut patients have been transformed in the current era of management.
Open
Statement
Long-term risks of death from liver disease or sepsis in ultra-short gut patients have been transformed in the current era of management.
Open
Statement
Ultra-short gut patients who did better tended to have some remnant ileum and longer colonic remnants.
Open
Statement
Ultra-short gut patients who did better tended to have some remnant ileum and longer colonic remnants.
Open
Statement
Neonatologists see some of the survivors—ex-premature infants with intestinal failure—return to their follow-up clinics, which informs their perspective.
Open
Statement
Neonatologists see some of the survivors—ex-premature infants with intestinal failure—return to their follow-up clinics, which informs their perspective.
Open
Statement
Not every child needs to die with a laparotomy decision; the data will tell whether the unoperated septic/inflammatory response leads to negative outcomes.
Open
Statement
Not every child needs to die with a laparotomy decision; the data will tell whether the unoperated septic/inflammatory response leads to negative outcomes.
Open
Quotation
I don't subscribe to the notion that Every kid needs to die with a laparotomy indecision.
Open
Quotation
I don't subscribe to the notion that Every kid needs to die with a laparotomy indecision.
Open
Statement
Long-term neurocognitive tracking of this population is part of the program's responsibility and is beneficial to patients.
Open
Statement
Long-term neurocognitive tracking of this population is part of the program's responsibility and is beneficial to patients.
Open
Statement
Lipid restriction as a way of controlling liver disease was never a practice subscribed to by the speakers.
Open
Statement
Lipid restriction as a way of controlling liver disease was never a practice subscribed to by the speakers.
Open
Statement
The surgeon's intraoperative decisions—what is done and what is not done—have a lifelong impact and are critically important; these decisions can determine whether the child stays on or gets off TPN or whether they survive.
Open
Quotation
The surgeon's role in the patient with short bowel syndrome is, is obviously significant. Partly for what we do and partly for what we don't do, right?
Open
Quotation
The surgeon's role in the patient with short bowel syndrome is, is obviously significant. Partly for what we do and partly for what we don't do, right?
Open
Statement
The surgeon's intraoperative decisions—what is done and what is not done—have a lifelong impact and are critically important; these decisions can determine whether the child stays on or gets off TPN or whether they survive.
Open
Quotation
So, those, those decisions that you make at the time that you see an intraabdominal catastrophe can make the difference between whether this kid will get, stay on or get off TPN or whether they survive or don't.
Open
Quotation
So, those, those decisions that you make at the time that you see an intraabdominal catastrophe can make the difference between whether this kid will get, stay on or get off TPN or whether they survive or don't.
Open
Statement
Traditional teaching is to remove obviously dead and infarcted bowel, leave suspicious or questionable bowel, and return in 24–48 hours to let it demarcate; the approach described is a departure from that teaching.
Open
Statement
Traditional teaching is to remove obviously dead and infarcted bowel, leave suspicious or questionable bowel, and return in 24–48 hours to let it demarcate; the approach described is a departure from that teaching.
Open
Statement
Some of these children look worse over the next 24–36 hours, then start to stabilize—they may not get better, but they stop getting worse.
Open
Statement
Some of these children look worse over the next 24–36 hours, then start to stabilize—they may not get better, but they stop getting worse.
Open
Quotation
Often, some of these kids do get, they kind of look worse over the next 24, 36 hours, and then they start to, you know, they may not even be getting better, they just stop getting worse.
Open
Quotation
Often, some of these kids do get, they kind of look worse over the next 24, 36 hours, and then they start to, you know, they may not even be getting better, they just stop getting worse.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 3: Enteral Autonomy, Part 1
Quotation
That remaining bowel, that residual intestine goes through this process of adaptation and where the bowel is trying to compensate to reestablish function, to absorb enough nutrients and fluids to maintain survival.
Open
Statement
In short gut syndrome, residual intestine undergoes adaptation to compensate and reestablish function to absorb enough nutrients and fluids to maintain survival.
Open
Quotation
That remaining bowel, that residual intestine goes through this process of adaptation and where the bowel is trying to compensate to reestablish function, to absorb enough nutrients and fluids to maintain survival.
Open
Statement
In short gut syndrome, residual intestine undergoes adaptation to compensate and reestablish function to absorb enough nutrients and fluids to maintain survival.
Open
Quotation
The process is driven by The presence of intraluminal nutrients and their interaction with both gut secretions, you know, pancreatic biliary secretions, as well as the impact on the relationship with trophic gut peptides.
Open
Statement
The adaptive process is driven by the presence of intraluminal nutrients and their interaction with gut secretions (pancreatic, biliary) and trophic gut peptides.
Open
Statement
The adaptive process is driven by the presence of intraluminal nutrients and their interaction with gut secretions (pancreatic, biliary) and trophic gut peptides.
Open
Quotation
The process is driven by The presence of intraluminal nutrients and their interaction with both gut secretions, you know, pancreatic biliary secretions, as well as the impact on the relationship with trophic gut peptides.
Open
Statement
Structural changes during adaptation include mucosal hypertrophy (increased villous length), increased blood supply through angiogenesis, bowel dilation, and in younger children, gut lengthening—all increasing surface area for nutrient absorption.
Open
Statement
Structural changes during adaptation include mucosal hypertrophy (increased villous length), increased blood supply through angiogenesis, bowel dilation, and in younger children, gut lengthening—all increasing surface area for nutrient absorption.
Open
Quotation
What all of those things have in common is that they increase surface area for absorption absorption of nutrients, right?
Open
Quotation
What all of those things have in common is that they increase surface area for absorption absorption of nutrients, right?
Open
Statement
Functional changes during adaptation include slowed motility to allow more contact time and up-regulation of enterocyte transporters to move nutrients across cells more efficiently.
Open
Statement
Functional changes during adaptation include slowed motility to allow more contact time and up-regulation of enterocyte transporters to move nutrients across cells more efficiently.
Open
Quotation
So, each, each cell is working harder, if you will, to try to, to, Function better and our job as a team is to try to promote that the best we can.
Open
Quotation
So, each, each cell is working harder, if you will, to try to, to, Function better and our job as a team is to try to promote that the best we can.
Open
Statement
Until very recently, there was no standardized definition for enteral autonomy, and most intestinal failure outcomes have poor definitions.
Open
Statement
Until very recently, there was no standardized definition for enteral autonomy, and most intestinal failure outcomes have poor definitions.
Open
Statement
Higher proportions of patients are now surviving to have the ability to reach enteral autonomy due to better management of TPN complications such as line infections, liver disease, and vascular thrombosis.
Open
Statement
Higher proportions of patients are now surviving to have the ability to reach enteral autonomy due to better management of TPN complications such as line infections, liver disease, and vascular thrombosis.
Open
Statement
In the past, patients were lost to complications such as liver disease before they could reach their adaptive potential; current management is much better at preventing these complications.
Open
Statement
In the past, patients were lost to complications such as liver disease before they could reach their adaptive potential; current management is much better at preventing these complications.
Open
Quotation
So the current Aspen guidelines that just came out with standardized definitions, the independence of uh parental support for 12 weeks and with maintenance of adequate growth and hydration during that time period.
Open
Statement
The current ASPEN guidelines define enteral autonomy as independence from parenteral support for 12 weeks with maintenance of adequate growth and hydration during that time period.
Open
Quotation
So the current Aspen guidelines that just came out with standardized definitions, the independence of uh parental support for 12 weeks and with maintenance of adequate growth and hydration during that time period.
Open
Statement
The current ASPEN guidelines define enteral autonomy as independence from parenteral support for 12 weeks with maintenance of adequate growth and hydration during that time period.
Open
Statement
A patient is not truly off TPN unless they can actually grow off TPN; stopping TPN without achieving growth is a mistake.
Open
Quotation
Because it's one thing to turn off parenteral support, but, you know, you're not really off TPN or off parental support unless you can actually grow off TPN.
Open
Statement
A patient is not truly off TPN unless they can actually grow off TPN; stopping TPN without achieving growth is a mistake.
Open
Quotation
Because it's one thing to turn off parenteral support, but, you know, you're not really off TPN or off parental support unless you can actually grow off TPN.
Open
Statement
In the 2012 Squires/PIFCO paper, 50% of patients achieved enteral autonomy over 5-6 years, 25% died, and 25% received transplants.
Open
Statement
In the 2012 Squires/PIFCO paper, 50% of patients achieved enteral autonomy over 5-6 years, 25% died, and 25% received transplants.
Open
Quotation
Basically, 50% of patients achieved dental autonomy over 56 years, 25% died and 25% got transplanted.
Open
Quotation
Basically, 50% of patients achieved dental autonomy over 56 years, 25% died and 25% got transplanted.
Open
Statement
Recent papers from the last 5-6 years show that 60-80% of patients now achieve enteral autonomy, representing improved outcomes compared to historical data.
Open
Statement
Recent papers from the last 5-6 years show that 60-80% of patients now achieve enteral autonomy, representing improved outcomes compared to historical data.
Open
Statement
Small bowel length is an independently significant variable predicting adaptive capacity, which is intuitive since the majority of nutrient digestion and fluid absorption occurs in the small bowel.
Open
Statement
Small bowel length is an independently significant variable predicting adaptive capacity, which is intuitive since the majority of nutrient digestion and fluid absorption occurs in the small bowel.
Open
Statement
The ileum has a much greater capacity to adapt than the jejunum; patients with predominant ileal anatomy do better than those with predominant jejunal anatomy.
Open
Statement
The ileum has a much greater capacity to adapt than the jejunum; patients with predominant ileal anatomy do better than those with predominant jejunal anatomy.
Open
Statement
A full-term baby is born with approximately 160 centimeters of small bowel, which grows to about 425 centimeters by age 5 years, with the steepest growth rate between 35 weeks gestation and 6 months postnatal.
Open
Statement
A full-term baby is born with approximately 160 centimeters of small bowel, which grows to about 425 centimeters by age 5 years, with the steepest growth rate between 35 weeks gestation and 6 months postnatal.
Open
Quotation
When you're 5 years old, you have about 425 centimeters of small bowel, and the rate of growth on the curve is steepest between 35 weeks gestation to about 6 months postnatal.
Open
Quotation
When you're 5 years old, you have about 425 centimeters of small bowel, and the rate of growth on the curve is steepest between 35 weeks gestation to about 6 months postnatal.
Open
Statement
The presence or absence of the ileocecal valve is a predictor of adaptation, though the valve itself may not be the important factor; rather, loss of the valve typically accompanies loss of the terminal ileum, which is the bigger factor affecting adaptive potential.
Open
Statement
The presence or absence of the ileocecal valve is a predictor of adaptation, though the valve itself may not be the important factor; rather, loss of the valve typically accompanies loss of the terminal ileum, which is the bigger factor affecting adaptive potential.
Open
Quotation
Most people that lose their ileocecal valve also lose their terminal ileum, and I think that is the bigger factor as far as, uh, adaptive potential.
Open
Quotation
Most people that lose their ileocecal valve also lose their terminal ileum, and I think that is the bigger factor as far as, uh, adaptive potential.
Open
Statement
When a patient has the majority of their small bowel, it almost does not matter how much colon they have—probability of enteral autonomy is 85-100%.
Open
Quotation
So we've presented data that shows that if you've got the majority of your small bowel, then it almost doesn't matter how much colon you have, you have a probability of ventral autonomy somewhere between 85 to 100%.
Open
Statement
When a patient has the majority of their small bowel, it almost does not matter how much colon they have—probability of enteral autonomy is 85-100%.
Open
Quotation
So we've presented data that shows that if you've got the majority of your small bowel, then it almost doesn't matter how much colon you have, you have a probability of ventral autonomy somewhere between 85 to 100%.
Open
Statement
When small bowel remnant is less than 50% of expected length, the colon becomes vitally important, assuming an increasing role in energy absorption from short-chain fatty acids and fluid/salt absorption.
Open
Statement
When small bowel remnant is less than 50% of expected length, the colon becomes vitally important, assuming an increasing role in energy absorption from short-chain fatty acids and fluid/salt absorption.
Open
CAPS - The use of urine sodium to creatinine ratio as a marker of total body sodium in infants with intestinal failure - Sara Choi
Statement
Patients with stomas, even those without intestinal failure, run the risk of sodium depletion, which has a significant impact on their growth.
Open
Statement
Stomas and high stool losses are a large source of sodium bicarbonate as well as magnesium loss.
Open
Statement
Sodium status needs to be thought of, especially in the setting of a baby experiencing poor weight gain in the exposure to what is believed to be adequate calories.
Open
Statement
When sodium is replaced, it helps restore growth, but it doesn't allow catch up growth.
Open
Quotation
It's important to remember that when we replace sodium, it does help restore growth, but it doesn't allow catch up growth.
Open
Statement
It's important to track these patients serially so that a trend can be detected and sodium depletion can be avoided in the first place.
Open
Statement
If it becomes part of practice to order urine electrolytes at the time that someone's doing their TPN blood work, it's easy to calculate the fractional excretion of sodium ratio.
Open
Statement
Having potassium, chloride, and osmolality added to the urine electrolytes in addition to just the sodium gives a better picture of whether someone is truly sodium depleted.
Open
Statement
If potassium level is higher than sodium level in urine, that often indicates the aldosterone pathway is turned on.
Open
Quotation
If we see their potassium level higher than their sodium level, that often will tell you that the aldosterone pathway is turned on.
Open
Pediatric Vascular Access in Brief: Preoperative, Operative, and Postoperative Considerations
Statement
Traditional locking solutions are predominantly antibiotic locks, but they lead to development of bacterial resistance.
Open
Quotation
Antimicrobial, it doesn't have any resistance, and it'll kill bacteria that are both planktonic, meaning floating around in the, in the lumen, or sessile, meaning that they're embedded in a biofilm along the wall of the catheter.
Open
Statement
Ethanol locks are antimicrobial without resistance development and kill both planktonic bacteria (floating in the lumen) and sessile bacteria (embedded in biofilm along the catheter wall).
Open
Statement
Kite lock is a 4% tetrasodium EDTA solution that is antimicrobial without resistance, and has antifibrinolytic and antithrombotic properties.
Open
Statement
Kite lock is licensed for pediatric use in Canada, Europe, and Australia, but availability varies by region.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 4: Surgical Management, Part 1
Statement
The majority of pediatric short bowel syndrome cases present at birth due to neonatal causes: congenital GI anomalies or acquired conditions like necrotizing enterocolitis.
Open
Quotation
If you are thinking of reestablishing continuity, I feel very strongly that you have to deal with the size discrepancy.
Open
Statement
When reestablishing bowel continuity, size discrepancy between bowel ends must be addressed or a functional obstruction will result even if the anastomosis is patent.
Open
Statement
Size discrepancy can be managed by resection to a more appropriate caliber, tapering enteroplasty, or serial transverse enteroplasty (STEP) depending on available bowel length.
Open
Statement
Gastroschisis patients tend to not do as well with STEP procedures regardless of whether atresia is present; among STEP procedures performed over the years, gastroschisis cases consistently had worse outcomes.
Open
Quotation
If, and if I look at the step procedures that I've done over the years, the ones that tend to not do as well or tend to always be the gastroschisis.
Open
Quotation
I don't usually do that operation anyway unless the bowel is an adequate diameter to make it worthwhile, and in my head over the years, it's always been about 5 centimeters anyway.
Open
Statement
STEP procedure is not usually performed unless bowel is at least 5 centimeters dilated to make it worthwhile.
Open
Statement
In scenarios where bowel is not adequately dilated, options include resecting bulbs with tapering enteroplasty, establishing continuity if possible, or leaving bowel disconnected with distal feeding tube access to grow the distal bowel before reconnection.
Open
Statement
For STEP, a transverse supraumbilical abdominal incision is used, all adhesions are lysed, and the entire intestinal tract is laid out from top to bottom to understand anatomy and maximize mobility.
Open
Statement
The anti-mesenteric surface of the bowel is marked with surgical pen after drying with a lap sponge; maintaining this alignment prevents longitudinal twisting of the bowel during stapling.
Open
Statement
Bowel length is measured before the procedure using 30 silk dipped in mineral oil; caliber and length of the dilated segment to be stepped are also recorded.
Open
Statement
An endo-GIA stapler is preferred over an open GIA stapler because the smaller cartridge head is more amenable in smaller patients.
Open
Statement
Staple lines are applied perpendicular to the mesentery at 90° and 270° (3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions if mesenteric vessels are at 0°).
Open
Statement
A vascular (white) cartridge with 2.5 mm staples that crimp to 1 mm is used; this is more appropriate for younger patients' bowel thickness and prevents leaks that occurred with classic blue loads in early experience.
Open
Statement
Target caliber for STEP is 1.5 cm in babies and 2 to 2.5 cm in older infants or children; making it too narrow risks obstruction, especially in patients with borderline motility.
Open
Statement
Before firing the stapler, measurements are taken to both the end of the bowel and to the side to ensure proper caliber is maintained throughout the length.
Open
Statement
A U-stitch with 4-0 PDS is placed in the crotch of each staple line to prevent potential leaks at that point.
Open
Statement
The procedure is performed with a partner, alternating sides of the bowel, working down the length; 45 mm cartridges are most versatile, but 30 mm and 60 mm cartridges may be needed depending on bowel diameter.
Open
Statement
At the top and bottom of the STEP segment, an additional oblique staple line is fired to taper the transition and avoid a 'dog ear' blind loop that can dilate over time.
Open
Statement
The STEP procedure is performed with staple lines perpendicular to the mesentery (90° and 270°), not in the anti-mesenteric to mesenteric orientation (180° and 0°).
Open
Statement
The duodenum is not stepped; the STEP procedure starts where the bowel begins to dilate, usually distal to the duodenum.
Open
Statement
Avoiding staple lines in the duodenum allows proximal access if emergency reoperation is needed for a leak.
Open
Statement
If duodenal narrowing is needed, a stapler is used to partially narrow the lateral side away from the bile duct and ampulla; plication sutures are not used because they usually fail.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 4: Surgical Management, Part 1
Statement
The majority of pediatric short bowel syndrome cases present at birth due to neonatal causes: congenital GI anomalies or acquired conditions like necrotizing enterocolitis.
Open
Statement
When reestablishing bowel continuity, size discrepancy between bowel ends must be addressed or a functional obstruction will result even if the anastomosis is patent.
Open
Quotation
If you are thinking of reestablishing continuity, I feel very strongly that you have to deal with the size discrepancy.
Open
Statement
Size discrepancy can be managed by resection to a more appropriate caliber, tapering enteroplasty, or serial transverse enteroplasty (STEP) depending on available bowel length.
Open
Statement
Gastroschisis patients tend to not do as well with STEP procedures regardless of whether atresia is present; among STEP procedures performed over the years, gastroschisis cases consistently had worse outcomes.
Open
Quotation
If, and if I look at the step procedures that I've done over the years, the ones that tend to not do as well or tend to always be the gastroschisis.
Open
Statement
STEP procedure is not usually performed unless bowel is at least 5 centimeters dilated to make it worthwhile.
Open
Quotation
I don't usually do that operation anyway unless the bowel is an adequate diameter to make it worthwhile, and in my head over the years, it's always been about 5 centimeters anyway.
Open
Statement
In scenarios where bowel is not adequately dilated, options include resecting bulbs with tapering enteroplasty, establishing continuity if possible, or leaving bowel disconnected with distal feeding tube access to grow the distal bowel before reconnection.
Open
Statement
For STEP, a transverse supraumbilical abdominal incision is used, all adhesions are lysed, and the entire intestinal tract is laid out from top to bottom to understand anatomy and maximize mobility.
Open
Statement
The anti-mesenteric surface of the bowel is marked with surgical pen after drying with a lap sponge; maintaining this alignment prevents longitudinal twisting of the bowel during stapling.
Open
Statement
Bowel length is measured before the procedure using 30 silk dipped in mineral oil; caliber and length of the dilated segment to be stepped are also recorded.
Open
Statement
An endo-GIA stapler is preferred over an open GIA stapler because the smaller cartridge head is more amenable in smaller patients.
Open
Statement
Staple lines are applied perpendicular to the mesentery at 90° and 270° (3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions if mesenteric vessels are at 0°).
Open
Statement
A vascular (white) cartridge with 2.5 mm staples that crimp to 1 mm is used; this is more appropriate for younger patients' bowel thickness and prevents leaks that occurred with classic blue loads in early experience.
Open
Statement
Target caliber for STEP is 1.5 cm in babies and 2 to 2.5 cm in older infants or children; making it too narrow risks obstruction, especially in patients with borderline motility.
Open
Statement
Before firing the stapler, measurements are taken to both the end of the bowel and to the side to ensure proper caliber is maintained throughout the length.
Open
Statement
A U-stitch with 4-0 PDS is placed in the crotch of each staple line to prevent potential leaks at that point.
Open
Statement
The procedure is performed with a partner, alternating sides of the bowel, working down the length; 45 mm cartridges are most versatile, but 30 mm and 60 mm cartridges may be needed depending on bowel diameter.
Open
Statement
At the top and bottom of the STEP segment, an additional oblique staple line is fired to taper the transition and avoid a 'dog ear' blind loop that can dilate over time.
Open
Statement
The STEP procedure is performed with staple lines perpendicular to the mesentery (90° and 270°), not in the anti-mesenteric to mesenteric orientation (180° and 0°).
Open
Statement
The duodenum is not stepped; the STEP procedure starts where the bowel begins to dilate, usually distal to the duodenum.
Open
Statement
Avoiding staple lines in the duodenum allows proximal access if emergency reoperation is needed for a leak.
Open
Statement
If duodenal narrowing is needed, a stapler is used to partially narrow the lateral side away from the bile duct and ampulla; plication sutures are not used because they usually fail.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 4: Surgical Management, Part 2
Quotation
I think we have to remember that the biggest benefit of the step, for instance, is the fact that you're tapering the bowel and reestablishing a more normal caliber to improve motility.
Open
Statement
The biggest benefit of the STEP procedure is tapering the bowel and reestablishing a more normal caliber to improve motility.
Open
Statement
It can take up to 6 months before you actually start to see a significant improvement in absorptive capacity after STEP.
Open
Quotation
It can take up to 6 months before you actually start to see a significant improvement in absorptive capacity.
Open
Statement
Improvements in absorptive capacity are measured with fecal fat, alpha-1 antitrypsin clearance, xylose absorption, and citrulline levels as they rise over time.
Open
Statement
The reason absorptive improvement takes time is that inflamed, sick, leaky mucosa in the setting of bacterial overgrowth needs to heal.
Open
Statement
Bleeding at STEP staple lines is an underreported complication that is really difficult to manage in some cases.
Open
Quotation
My hypothesis is that this is a microbiome problem. I think you have a pro-inflammatory environment.
Open
Statement
Staple line bleeding is hypothesized to be a microbiome problem occurring in a pro-inflammatory environment.
Open
Statement
Staple line bleeding tends to occur in type 2 anatomy, which is small bowel to colonic remnant in the absence of an intact colon ileocecal valve.
Open
Quotation
It's non-specific inflammation. There's no vasculitis, there's no viral elements, there's no obvious ischemia, and the management can be super difficult.
Open
Statement
Pathology of staple line ulcers shows non-specific inflammation with no vasculitis, no viral elements, and no obvious ischemia.
Open
Statement
Most referrals for intestinal rehabilitation have had multiple operations before coming to the specialist center.
Open
Statement
Optimizing a child's anatomy may not be conducive to just one operation; you have to set yourself up sometimes planning for the next case.
Open
Quotation
Keep your eye on the horizon, which is what can we do to try to optimize this kid's anatomy. And if you think about that plan, it may not be conducive to just one operation today.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 6: Cholestasis
Statement
Cincinnati Children's Hospital institutionally defined cholestasis as conjugated bilirubin greater than 3 mg/dL or 50 micromoles/L sustained for 2 weeks and not associated with a septic event.
Open
Quotation
Institutionally defined it as a conjugated bilirubin greater than 3 mg per deciliter or 50 micromoles per liter sustained for 2 weeks and not associated with a septic event.
Open
Statement
A 2021 JPN publication defined cholestasis as conjugated bilirubin around 2 mg/dL or 34 micromoles/L for 2 weeks, not associated with a septic event.
Open
Statement
In young children, intestinal failure-associated liver disease presents as cholestatic liver disease, whereas in adolescents and adults it tends to be steatosis (fatty deposition).
Open
Statement
Prematurity is not modifiable by the clinical team, but lack of enteral feeding, sepsis, and TPN components are modifiable risk factors.
Open
Quotation
Now, prematurity, we as clinicians, as a team, we don't have much control over that. But the other factors are modifiable, and we can have an impact on that.
Open
Statement
Prevention of cholestasis requires aggressive introduction of enteral feeding to establish enterohepatic circulation and surgical procedures to optimize anatomy for feed delivery.
Open
Statement
Two strategies for reversing cholestasis are dose restriction and change of lipid composition.
Open
Statement
Conventional intralipid (soybean-based) produces prostaglandins and eicosanoids that are pro-inflammatory when metabolized.
Open
Statement
SMOF lipid promotes bile flow, is hepatoprotective, and can be delivered at conventional dose to achieve somatic growth and provide neurologic nutrients while protecting the liver.
Open
Statement
SMOF lipid does not contain enough arachidonic acid, so dose restriction of SMOF can lead to essential fatty acid deficiency.
Open
Statement
When SMOF is delivered at conventional dosing, no patients develop essential fatty acid deficiency.
Open
Statement
Conventional dosing for lipids is settling around 2.5 g/kg/day, but nutrition guidelines for preterm infants and babies state 3-4 g/kg/day.
Open
Statement
A bilirubin of 2 mg/dL is not advanced liver disease, is not dangerous, and is usually transient; Dr. Wales would not change lipid emulsion at this threshold.
Open
Quotation
My opinion is that a billy of 2 is not by any stretch advanced liver disease, and it's not dangerous, and it's usually transient. So I personally would not change the lipid emulsion out of Billy to.
Open
Statement
During secondary surgical or autologous reconstruction procedures, a liver biopsy is commonly taken to provide an up-to-date microscopic snapshot.
Open
Statement
Liver function and biochemistry are followed routinely as inpatient and at outpatient clinic visits.
Open
Statement
Elastography (FibroScan) is available for monitoring but is good for mild/no fibrosis or very advanced fibrosis; it is not as sensitive for patients with intermediate fibrosis.
Open
Statement
Follow-up visit frequency for children on TPN at home ranges from every 1-4 months depending on patient stability; actively adapting patients may be seen more frequently due to rapid changes being made.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 7: Refeeding in a neonatal patient
Statement
One goal in intestinal failure management is to establish normal feeding habits that promote gut function and optimize quality of life including social aspects of eating.
Open
Quotation
Even if a kid has a complicated disease process, one of our goals as a team is to try to establish the most normal feeding habits we can that not only promote gut function and everything else, but also to optimize quality of life and the importance of the social aspects of eating that we all experience with our families and friends.
Open
Statement
When initiating feeds in patients with high stoma output, losses increase initially, but this must be pushed through in a hospital setting where volume replacement is available.
Open
Statement
In short bowel syndrome, protein absorption is fairly well preserved, so the benefit of completely broken-down protein formulas (free amino acids or hydrolysates) is primarily from an allergy perspective.
Open
Quotation
In the world of short bowel syndrome, protein absorption is actually fairly well preserved. So it seems like the benefit is from an allergy perspective.
Open
Quotation
Over the last several years, a lot of the formulas have moved from predominant long chain fat to increasing in MCT components. But long chain fat is a stronger driver for adaptation, and I personally haven't really bought into that.
Open
Statement
Many formulas have moved from predominant long-chain fat to increasing MCT components, but long-chain fat is a stronger driver for adaptation.
Open
Statement
One milliliter of parenteral nutrition is not isocaloric with one milliliter of formula, and advancing beyond 100-120 per kilo creates problems with not only calories and protein but also sodium and calcium due to compositional differences.
Open
Quotation
You're right, and they're not isocaloric, and so 1 mL of PN is not 1 mL of formula. So if you keep going beyond 100 per kilo or 120 per kilo, you, you have a problem. And kids, not only will they take a calorie protein hit, they'll take, you start to get into problems with sodium and calcium as well, because the composition in the milk is not the same as what's in the parental solution.
Open
Statement
Feeding options include bolus (oral or gastric via tube), continuous (post-pyloric tube or surgical J-tube), or a hybrid model with gastric bolus component plus continuous component (gastric or post-pyloric).
Open
Quotation
Because I like bolus feeds as a default, I'd like, I like to see a patient fail bolus feeds before they end up on continuous feeds as a sole delivery remote.
Open
Statement
Bolus feeds are preferred as the default approach; patients should fail bolus feeds before being placed on continuous feeds as the sole delivery method.
Open
Statement
Continuous feeds can be used as a supplemental approach, with bolus feeds during the day and continuous supplementation overnight.
Open
Quotation
One thing I just want to say about oral feeding is that even in the scenario where it's really non-nutritive. I think it's important for people to sort of look at that oral feeding, not so much as an internal nutrition perspective, but more of a skill development perspective that they never learn how to eat by mouth and suck and swallow and process, then they won't eat solids later when you want them to, and you're stuck basically with tube feeding on an older child.
Open
Statement
Even when oral feeding is non-nutritive, it is important for skill development; children who never learn to suck, swallow, and process food by mouth will not eat solids later and will remain dependent on tube feeding.
Open
Quotation
Yeah, and it, it goes to the point that we've made in a previous podcast about having a plan and and resisting the temptation to get it all done in one. Operation. It's all about optimizing the patient for the next step, but you don't have to do it all in one go.
Open
Statement
The technical benefit of distal feeding is that size discrepancy at anastomosis is significantly improved because the bowel has been used.
Open
Statement
A G-tube provides versatility for nutrition supplementation, medication delivery, and venting for gassy or bloated children to improve enteral tolerance.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation Episode 8: Refeeding of an Older Patient
Quotation
The benefit in the curse in a patient like that is that they do know how to eat. They've established that that behavior.
Open
Statement
The benefit and curse in older patients with bowel loss is that they already know how to eat and have established that behavior.
Open
Statement
Even if you cannot cure the patient and get them off TPN, it is important to make compromises to optimize quality of life.
Open
Quotation
So even if you can't cure this patient and get them off TPN. It's important to make compromises to optimize quality of life the best you can.
Open
Statement
The general strategy is to push the macronutrient modules of protein and fat, which are well tolerated.
Open
Quotation
The general strategy is you want to push the macronutrient modules of protein and fat are well tolerated. Most of these kids don't tolerate simple sugars very well.
Open
Statement
The general concept of pushing solids and minimizing fluid intake helps prevent dumping.
Open
Quotation
So the general concept of pushing solids. And minimizing fluid intake helps. They don't tend to dump as much smaller meals more frequently of solids separated from their liquids to a certain extent, and minimization of simple sugars.
Open
Statement
Smaller meals more frequently of solids separated from liquids, with minimization of simple sugars, reduces dumping tendency.
Open
Statement
Patients who have transitioned off TPN often come back with problems when diet history reveals they have gotten loose with diet choices, particularly increased sugars.
Open
Statement
Minimizing sugars reduces symptoms related to bacterial overgrowth, making patients less bloated and gassy.
Open
Statement
In older children with fluid losses (by stoma or other source), if they are on parenteral support, some fluid can be replaced IV.
Open
Statement
As you try to get patients off IV support, keeping them hydrated by replenishing losses through enteral replacements is important.
Open
Quotation
For transport requires sodium and glucose, and so your solution that you're replacing with has to contain some glucose and some salt.
Open
Statement
Transport requires sodium and glucose, so the rehydration solution must contain some glucose and some salt.
Open
Statement
There are homemade recipes for oral rehydration solutions and over-the-counter preparations available.
Open
Statement
Gatorade does not always work well for rehydration because it has too much sugar in it.
Open
Quotation
Some people will resort to things like Gatorade and stuff like that, but that doesn't always work that well. It's actually too much sugar in it.
Open
Quotation
It is true some kids end up back on parental support, you know, to get through puberty. And then when you're not growing anymore as an adult, often that borderline or marginal gut function is enough to sustain them.
Open
Statement
When patients are not growing anymore as adults, borderline or marginal gut function is often enough to sustain them.
Open
Statement
Patients need to be monitored for micronutrient deficiencies after getting off TPN, as this is when they often get into trouble.
Open
Statement
Long-term growth and outcome need to be followed, highlighting the importance of multidisciplinary teams.
Open
Statement
Weight is tracked as a major metric for growth, but it has to be balanced with height.
Open
Quotation
What we commonly see in this type of population is. Round babies where their weight for height is elevated
Open
Statement
What is commonly seen in this population is round babies where their weight for height is elevated.
Open
Statement
There is increasing data looking at quality of weight: how much is fat weight versus lean body mass.
Open
Advancements in Pediatric Intestinal Failure: Innovative Therapies and Improved Outcomes
Statement
Liver disease associated with intestinal failure ranges from mild cholestasis to profound steatosis (in older children/adolescents/adults), with progression through inflammation, fibrosis, and ultimately cirrhosis leading to death or transplantation.
Open
Quotation
They go anywhere from mild cholestasis to more profound steatosis, which we see in older children or adolescents and adults, with ongoing inflammation, fibrosis, and ultimately cirrhosis leading to death or the need for transplantation.
Open
Quotation
They go anywhere from mild cholestasis to more profound steatosis, which we see in older children or adolescents and adults, with ongoing inflammation, fibrosis, and ultimately cirrhosis leading to death or the need for transplantation.
Open
Statement
Liver disease associated with intestinal failure ranges from mild cholestasis to profound steatosis (in older children/adolescents/adults), with progression through inflammation, fibrosis, and ultimately cirrhosis leading to death or transplantation.
Open
Statement
Risk factors for intestinal failure-associated liver disease include prematurity, lack of enteral feeding, inability to feed due to anatomy, recurrent infections/sepsis, and components of TPN.
Open
Statement
Risk factors for intestinal failure-associated liver disease include prematurity, lack of enteral feeding, inability to feed due to anatomy, recurrent infections/sepsis, and components of TPN.
Open
Quotation
There's some patient factors related to prematurity, uh, lack of enteral feeding, the inability to feed because of the anatomy or recurrent infections, sepsis, which can affect the liver directly and indirectly. And the components of TPN.
Open
Quotation
There's some patient factors related to prematurity, uh, lack of enteral feeding, the inability to feed because of the anatomy or recurrent infections, sepsis, which can affect the liver directly and indirectly. And the components of TPN.
Open
Quotation
Intestinal rehab teams improve the outcome of children because of integration of care, improved communication, better continuity.
Open
Statement
Intestinal rehabilitation teams improve outcomes through integration of care, improved communication, and better continuity.
Open
Quotation
Intestinal rehab teams improve the outcome of children because of integration of care, improved communication, better continuity.
Open
Statement
Intestinal rehabilitation teams improve outcomes through integration of care, improved communication, and better continuity.
Open
Statement
Intestinal rehabilitation programs rely heavily on speech, language, and occupational therapy specialists.
Open
Statement
Intestinal rehabilitation programs rely heavily on speech, language, and occupational therapy specialists.
Open
Quotation
While our patients are on TPN, we're trying to mitigate the progression of liver disease, sepsis, vascular complications.
Open
Statement
While patients are on TPN, the goal is to mitigate progression of liver disease, sepsis, and vascular complications.
Open
Quotation
While our patients are on TPN, we're trying to mitigate the progression of liver disease, sepsis, vascular complications.
Open
Statement
While patients are on TPN, the goal is to mitigate progression of liver disease, sepsis, and vascular complications.
Open
Quotation
What we ask our Families to do at home is significant. These patients go home on TPN. The families run the pump, add vitamins to the TPN, program the pump, record ins and outs, manage the G tube, manage the stoma.
Open
Quotation
What we ask our Families to do at home is significant. These patients go home on TPN. The families run the pump, add vitamins to the TPN, program the pump, record ins and outs, manage the G tube, manage the stoma.
Open
Statement
Families of intestinal failure patients manage significant tasks at home including running TPN pumps, adding vitamins, programming pumps, recording ins and outs, managing G-tubes, and managing stomas.
Open
Statement
Families of intestinal failure patients manage significant tasks at home including running TPN pumps, adding vitamins, programming pumps, recording ins and outs, managing G-tubes, and managing stomas.
Open
Statement
High-quality families demonstrate evidence of burnout over time despite education and empowerment efforts.
Open
Statement
High-quality families demonstrate evidence of burnout over time despite education and empowerment efforts.
Open
Quotation
We educate and empower our parents because we've all seen high-quality families that over time demonstrate evidence of burnout.
Open
Quotation
We educate and empower our parents because we've all seen high-quality families that over time demonstrate evidence of burnout.
Open
Quotation
There's literature that shows the improvement of outcomes with programs in general. You see an improved survival related to liver dysfunction, decreased septic episodes, reduction in central line complications, reduced ICU admissions, and the patients that were listed for transplant are coming off the list because of improved status. Mortality has gone down.
Open
Quotation
There's literature that shows the improvement of outcomes with programs in general. You see an improved survival related to liver dysfunction, decreased septic episodes, reduction in central line complications, reduced ICU admissions, and the patients that were listed for transplant are coming off the list because of improved status. Mortality has gone down.
Open
Statement
Literature shows intestinal rehabilitation programs improve survival related to liver dysfunction, decrease septic episodes, reduce central line complications, reduce ICU admissions, and enable patients listed for transplant to come off the list due to improved status.
Open
Statement
Literature shows intestinal rehabilitation programs improve survival related to liver dysfunction, decrease septic episodes, reduce central line complications, reduce ICU admissions, and enable patients listed for transplant to come off the list due to improved status.
Open
Statement
Mortality in intestinal failure has decreased with intestinal rehabilitation programs.
Open
Statement
Mortality in intestinal failure has decreased with intestinal rehabilitation programs.
Open
Statement
Lipids in parenteral nutrition are a source of essential fatty acids, a non-protein energy source important for growth, and fatty acids have a major role in cellular pathways.
Open
Statement
Lipids in parenteral nutrition are a source of essential fatty acids, a non-protein energy source important for growth, and fatty acids have a major role in cellular pathways.
Open
Quotation
Lipids are a source of essential fatty acids. They're a non-protein energy source important for growth. Fatty acids have a major role in cellular pathways.
Open
Quotation
Lipids are a source of essential fatty acids. They're a non-protein energy source important for growth. Fatty acids have a major role in cellular pathways.
Open
Quotation
Historically, most of the lipid emulsions in North America are soybean-based, so they have a high phytosterol content. A high omega 6 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid content and low antioxidant content.
Open
Quotation
Historically, most of the lipid emulsions in North America are soybean-based, so they have a high phytosterol content. A high omega 6 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid content and low antioxidant content.
Open
Statement
Historically, most lipid emulsions in North America are soybean-based with high phytosterol content, high omega-6 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid content, and low antioxidant content.
Open
Statement
Historically, most lipid emulsions in North America are soybean-based with high phytosterol content, high omega-6 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid content, and low antioxidant content.
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Statement
Prolonged soybean-based lipid exposure is associated with deterioration of liver function, specifically cholestasis.
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Statement
Prolonged soybean-based lipid exposure is associated with deterioration of liver function, specifically cholestasis.
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Statement
For every day an infant is exposed to soybean lipid dosed at greater than 2.5 g/kg/day, there is a 3% increase in the odds ratio of developing advanced liver disease.
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Quotation
This is a paper that we wrote several years ago that showed that for every day that an infant is exposed to soybean lipid dosed at greater than 2.5 g per kilo per day, which is more conventional dosing. That is associated with a 3% increase in the odds ratio of developing advanced liver disease.
Open
Quotation
This is a paper that we wrote several years ago that showed that for every day that an infant is exposed to soybean lipid dosed at greater than 2.5 g per kilo per day, which is more conventional dosing. That is associated with a 3% increase in the odds ratio of developing advanced liver disease.
Open
Statement
For every day an infant is exposed to soybean lipid dosed at greater than 2.5 g/kg/day, there is a 3% increase in the odds ratio of developing advanced liver disease.
Open
Quotation
The first generation were basically the soybean-based lipids, rich in omega 6UUFA. That would be intralipids, and that's been around for 40 years and it's saved a lot of lives.
Open
Statement
First-generation lipid emulsions were soybean-based, rich in omega-6 PUFA (such as Intralipid), and have been in use for 40 years.
Open
Statement
First-generation lipid emulsions were soybean-based, rich in omega-6 PUFA (such as Intralipid), and have been in use for 40 years.
Open
Quotation
The first generation were basically the soybean-based lipids, rich in omega 6UUFA. That would be intralipids, and that's been around for 40 years and it's saved a lot of lives.
Open
Quotation
The 3rd generation lipids attempt to not only reduce the omega 6 component, but to change the omega 6 to the omega 3 ratio with the addition of omega 3 lipids.
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Statement
Third-generation lipid emulsions reduce omega-6 component and change the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio by adding omega-3 lipids.
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Statement
Third-generation lipid emulsions reduce omega-6 component and change the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio by adding omega-3 lipids.
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Quotation
The 3rd generation lipids attempt to not only reduce the omega 6 component, but to change the omega 6 to the omega 3 ratio with the addition of omega 3 lipids.
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Quotation
Omega 6 lipids are metabolized to arachidonic acid. Which produce leukotrienes and prostaglandins of the more pro-inflammatory profile. The omega 3 lipids are metabolized through EPA and DHA and lead to the production of cytokines that have a less inflammatory profile.
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Statement
Omega-6 lipids are metabolized to arachidonic acid, which produces leukotrienes and prostaglandins with a more pro-inflammatory profile.
Open
Statement
Omega-6 lipids are metabolized to arachidonic acid, which produces leukotrienes and prostaglandins with a more pro-inflammatory profile.
Open
Quotation
Omega 6 lipids are metabolized to arachidonic acid. Which produce leukotrienes and prostaglandins of the more pro-inflammatory profile. The omega 3 lipids are metabolized through EPA and DHA and lead to the production of cytokines that have a less inflammatory profile.
Open
Statement
Omega-3 lipids are metabolized through EPA and DHA, leading to production of cytokines with a less inflammatory profile.
Open
Statement
Omega-3 lipids are metabolized through EPA and DHA, leading to production of cytokines with a less inflammatory profile.
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Statement
Omega-3 lipids improve bile flow by decreasing lithogenicity of bile, decreasing steatosis, stimulating improved beta-oxidation and clearance, lowering oxidative stress, and supporting immune function.
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Quotation
Omega 3 lipids improve bile flow because they decrease lithogenicity of the bile. They decrease steatosis. They stimulate improved beta oxidation and clearance, and they lower oxidative stress and support immune function.
Open
Statement
Omega-3 lipids improve bile flow by decreasing lithogenicity of bile, decreasing steatosis, stimulating improved beta-oxidation and clearance, lowering oxidative stress, and supporting immune function.
Open
Quotation
Omega 3 lipids improve bile flow because they decrease lithogenicity of the bile. They decrease steatosis. They stimulate improved beta oxidation and clearance, and they lower oxidative stress and support immune function.
Open
Statement
The two main strategies for improving lipids in parenteral nutrition are lipid minimization and change in composition.
Open
Statement
The two main strategies for improving lipids in parenteral nutrition are lipid minimization and change in composition.
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Statement
Literature dating back decades shows that restricting exposure to soybean lipid improves cholestasis, particularly when dosed at 1 g/kg/day or less.
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Statement
Literature dating back decades shows that restricting exposure to soybean lipid improves cholestasis, particularly when dosed at 1 g/kg/day or less.
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Quotation
There's a lot of literature dating back even decades that show that if you restrict exposure to soybean lipid, you improve cholestasis. When you dose the lipid at 1 g per kilo per day or less.
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Quotation
There's a lot of literature dating back even decades that show that if you restrict exposure to soybean lipid, you improve cholestasis. When you dose the lipid at 1 g per kilo per day or less.
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Quotation
The problem with this in preterm babies is that fat is important for growth, especially for neurocognitive development. So there is the risk of essential fatty acid deficiency if we restrict lipid dosing too much.
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Statement
In preterm babies, fat is important for growth, especially for neurocognitive development, creating a risk of essential fatty acid deficiency if lipid dosing is restricted too much.
Open
Statement
In preterm babies, fat is important for growth, especially for neurocognitive development, creating a risk of essential fatty acid deficiency if lipid dosing is restricted too much.
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Quotation
The problem with this in preterm babies is that fat is important for growth, especially for neurocognitive development. So there is the risk of essential fatty acid deficiency if we restrict lipid dosing too much.
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Quotation
DHA and arachidonic acid are important for retinal and brain development. None of the lipid emulsions today were designed for premature babies. They were all designed for adults in a critical care setting.
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Quotation
DHA and arachidonic acid are important for retinal and brain development. None of the lipid emulsions today were designed for premature babies. They were all designed for adults in a critical care setting.
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Statement
None of the current lipid emulsions were designed for premature babies; they were all designed for adults in critical care settings.
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Statement
None of the current lipid emulsions were designed for premature babies; they were all designed for adults in critical care settings.
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Quotation
We're currently in work with industry to create a lipid emulsion that's more specifically tailored to preterm babies that has a higher content of arachidonic acid.
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Statement
Work is currently underway with industry to create a lipid emulsion specifically tailored to preterm babies with higher arachidonic acid content.
Open
Statement
Work is currently underway with industry to create a lipid emulsion specifically tailored to preterm babies with higher arachidonic acid content.
Open
Quotation
We're currently in work with industry to create a lipid emulsion that's more specifically tailored to preterm babies that has a higher content of arachidonic acid.
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Quotation
So our patients with central lines, it's literally their lifeline. And without venous access, we can't support our families. They are at risk for complications, infections, blockages, thrombosis, and breakage.
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Statement
Central lines are the lifeline for intestinal failure patients, and without venous access, families cannot be supported.
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Statement
Central lines are the lifeline for intestinal failure patients, and without venous access, families cannot be supported.
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Quotation
So our patients with central lines, it's literally their lifeline. And without venous access, we can't support our families. They are at risk for complications, infections, blockages, thrombosis, and breakage.
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Statement
Central lines are at risk for complications including infections, blockages, thrombosis, and breakage.
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Statement
Central lines are at risk for complications including infections, blockages, thrombosis, and breakage.
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Quotation
In the United States, there's about 240,000 collapses in the United States on an annual basis. The cost of one of these is about $30,000 about $2 billion a year nationwide.
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Statement
In the United States, there are approximately 240,000 central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) annually, with each costing about $30,000, totaling approximately $2 billion per year nationwide.
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Statement
In the United States, there are approximately 240,000 central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) annually, with each costing about $30,000, totaling approximately $2 billion per year nationwide.
Open
Quotation
In the United States, there's about 240,000 collapses in the United States on an annual basis. The cost of one of these is about $30,000 about $2 billion a year nationwide.
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Quotation
We landed on 4% tetrosodium EDTA or kite lock as it's known in the trade name, which is an antithrombolytic, anti-fibrinolytic, and antimicrobial. So, it satisfies all three criteria that are important for a good lock solution.
Open
Statement
The team pivoted to 4% tetrasodium EDTA (Taurolock/Kitelock) when ethanol became too expensive and difficult to obtain.
Open
Statement
4% tetrasodium EDTA (Kitelock) is antithrombotic, anti-fibrinolytic, and antimicrobial, satisfying all three criteria important for a good lock solution.
Open
Quotation
We landed on 4% tetrosodium EDTA or kite lock as it's known in the trade name, which is an antithrombolytic, anti-fibrinolytic, and antimicrobial. So, it satisfies all three criteria that are important for a good lock solution.
Open
Statement
4% tetrasodium EDTA (Kitelock) is antithrombotic, anti-fibrinolytic, and antimicrobial, satisfying all three criteria important for a good lock solution.
Open
Statement
The team pivoted to 4% tetrasodium EDTA (Taurolock/Kitelock) when ethanol became too expensive and difficult to obtain.
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Quotation
It's licensed in Europe, it's licensed in Australia. It's not available in the United States.
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Quotation
It's licensed in Europe, it's licensed in Australia. It's not available in the United States.
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Quotation
I'm happy to say that we have finally launched our multi-center randomized trial of kitelock versus heparin, which went live 4 weeks ago, and we're actively recruiting patients. In the next year, we'll have the results of the trial, and we can get the kitelock into the United States.
Open
Statement
A multi-center randomized trial of Kitelock versus heparin went live 4 weeks ago and is actively recruiting patients, with results expected within the next year.
Open
Statement
A multi-center randomized trial of Kitelock versus heparin went live 4 weeks ago and is actively recruiting patients, with results expected within the next year.
Open
Quotation
I'm happy to say that we have finally launched our multi-center randomized trial of kitelock versus heparin, which went live 4 weeks ago, and we're actively recruiting patients. In the next year, we'll have the results of the trial, and we can get the kitelock into the United States.
Open
Quotation
In short bowel syndrome, we have 3 anatomical subtypes. Type 1 is the high L piginostomy. Type 2, where you've lost your distal small bowel, your ileum, and part of your colon, and there's a small bowel colonic anastomosis. And then type 3 where you've lost the mid-part of your small bowel, but you still have some retained ileum and an intact colon.
Open
Quotation
In short bowel syndrome, we have 3 anatomical subtypes. Type 1 is the high L piginostomy. Type 2, where you've lost your distal small bowel, your ileum, and part of your colon, and there's a small bowel colonic anastomosis. And then type 3 where you've lost the mid-part of your small bowel, but you still have some retained ileum and an intact colon.
Open
Statement
In short bowel syndrome, there are three anatomical subtypes: Type 1 (high jejunostomy), Type 2 (loss of distal small bowel/ileum and part of colon with small bowel-colonic anastomosis), and Type 3 (loss of mid-small bowel with retained ileum and intact colon).
Open
Statement
In short bowel syndrome, there are three anatomical subtypes: Type 1 (high jejunostomy), Type 2 (loss of distal small bowel/ileum and part of colon with small bowel-colonic anastomosis), and Type 3 (loss of mid-small bowel with retained ileum and intact colon).
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Quotation
The most common anatomical subtype in pediatrics is type 2. These patients struggle. Type 1 and type 2 struggle because they lack an ileum.
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Quotation
The most common anatomical subtype in pediatrics is type 2. These patients struggle. Type 1 and type 2 struggle because they lack an ileum.
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Statement
Native GLP-2 hormone has a half-life of 7 minutes, making it impractical for clinical use.
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Statement
Native GLP-2 hormone has a half-life of 7 minutes, making it impractical for clinical use.
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Quotation
The problem is that the native hormone has a half-life of 7 minutes. So it's not practical. So it's been altered, one amino acid alteration to an analog called taglutide. That has a half-life of 2 hours and it's given once a day subcutaneous injection.
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Quotation
The problem is that the native hormone has a half-life of 7 minutes. So it's not practical. So it's been altered, one amino acid alteration to an analog called taglutide. That has a half-life of 2 hours and it's given once a day subcutaneous injection.
Open
Statement
GLP-2 has been altered by one amino acid to create an analog called teduglutide, which has a half-life of 2 hours and is given once daily by subcutaneous injection.
Open
Statement
GLP-2 has been altered by one amino acid to create an analog called teduglutide, which has a half-life of 2 hours and is given once daily by subcutaneous injection.
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Quotation
What we see in patients that received taglutide, a 40% reduction in TPN fluid and calorie requirements over a six-month period. And 70% of patients that received the analog achieved the study endpoint, which was a 20% reduction in TPN requirements.
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Statement
A multi-center phase 3 study published in 2020 at Cincinnati Children's showed patients receiving teduglutide had a 40% reduction in TPN fluid and calorie requirements over a six-month period.
Open
Quotation
What we see in patients that received taglutide, a 40% reduction in TPN fluid and calorie requirements over a six-month period. And 70% of patients that received the analog achieved the study endpoint, which was a 20% reduction in TPN requirements.
Open
Statement
A multi-center phase 3 study published in 2020 at Cincinnati Children's showed patients receiving teduglutide had a 40% reduction in TPN fluid and calorie requirements over a six-month period.
Open
Statement
70% of patients who received teduglutide achieved the study endpoint of a 20% reduction in TPN requirements.
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Statement
70% of patients who received teduglutide achieved the study endpoint of a 20% reduction in TPN requirements.
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Quotation
It's licensed for children that are greater than 1 year of age. Already, it's made a big difference in our practice and even kids with very extreme anatomy have been able to get off TPN as a result of being able to replace this hormone.
Open
Quotation
It's licensed for children that are greater than 1 year of age. Already, it's made a big difference in our practice and even kids with very extreme anatomy have been able to get off TPN as a result of being able to replace this hormone.
Open
Statement
Teduglutide has made a big difference in practice, with even children with very extreme anatomy able to get off TPN.
Open
Statement
Teduglutide has made a big difference in practice, with even children with very extreme anatomy able to get off TPN.
Open
Statement
Another GLP-2 analog, apraglutide, has a longer half-life and can be given once weekly.
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Quotation
Another GLP-2 analog, a proglutide, has a longer half-life and can be given once a week. That's currently being studied. And what we've shown is that it actually works even better than taglutide. You get more bowel lengthening with a proglutide compared to glutide.
Open
Quotation
Another GLP-2 analog, a proglutide, has a longer half-life and can be given once a week. That's currently being studied. And what we've shown is that it actually works even better than taglutide. You get more bowel lengthening with a proglutide compared to glutide.
Open
Statement
Another GLP-2 analog, apraglutide, has a longer half-life and can be given once weekly.
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Statement
These interventions (optimized lipids, central line infection prevention, GLP-2 analogs) have led to a decrease in transplantation since 2008.
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Quotation
These interventions have led to a decrease in transplantation since 2008. In large part because of the successes of intestinal rehabilitation, the outcomes of transplant at 5 years are about 65%. Whatever we can do to avoid transplant and lifelong immunosuppression, that is our goal.
Open
Quotation
These interventions have led to a decrease in transplantation since 2008. In large part because of the successes of intestinal rehabilitation, the outcomes of transplant at 5 years are about 65%. Whatever we can do to avoid transplant and lifelong immunosuppression, that is our goal.
Open
Statement
These interventions (optimized lipids, central line infection prevention, GLP-2 analogs) have led to a decrease in transplantation since 2008.
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Statement
The decrease in transplantation is in large part because of the successes of intestinal rehabilitation.
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Statement
The decrease in transplantation is in large part because of the successes of intestinal rehabilitation.
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Quotation
We have lots of exciting medical and surgical options available to us, but this should all be done under the umbrella of a multidisciplinary team.
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Quotation
We have lots of exciting medical and surgical options available to us, but this should all be done under the umbrella of a multidisciplinary team.
Open
Paul's statements about Midgut Volvulus 50 statements
Open the Midgut Volvulus collection →
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 2: Overwhelming intestinal damage, Part 2
Statement
In Toronto, ultra-short gut is classified as less than 20% of expected bowel length for age; in a term baby that corresponds to 20–30 centimeters.
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Statement
Overall survival in the ultra-short gut population in the current era of management is over 90%, actually 90–95%.
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Statement
Ultra-short gut patients who reached enteral autonomy required multiple nutritional supplements but were able to grow within normal parameters.
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Quotation
There should be more optimism in general with this population just because our ability to mitigate those long term, you know, risks. Of death from liver disease or sepsis have been transformed in the current era of management.
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Statement
Long-term risks of death from liver disease or sepsis in ultra-short gut patients have been transformed in the current era of management.
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Statement
Ultra-short gut patients who did better tended to have some remnant ileum and longer colonic remnants.
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Statement
Neonatologists see some of the survivors—ex-premature infants with intestinal failure—return to their follow-up clinics, which informs their perspective.
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Quotation
I don't subscribe to the notion that Every kid needs to die with a laparotomy indecision.
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Statement
Not every child needs to die with a laparotomy decision; the data will tell whether the unoperated septic/inflammatory response leads to negative outcomes.
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Statement
Long-term neurocognitive tracking of this population is part of the program's responsibility and is beneficial to patients.
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Statement
Lipid restriction as a way of controlling liver disease was never a practice subscribed to by the speakers.
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Statement
The surgeon's intraoperative decisions—what is done and what is not done—have a lifelong impact and are critically important; these decisions can determine whether the child stays on or gets off TPN or whether they survive.
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Quotation
The surgeon's role in the patient with short bowel syndrome is, is obviously significant. Partly for what we do and partly for what we don't do, right?
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Quotation
So, those, those decisions that you make at the time that you see an intraabdominal catastrophe can make the difference between whether this kid will get, stay on or get off TPN or whether they survive or don't.
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Statement
Traditional teaching is to remove obviously dead and infarcted bowel, leave suspicious or questionable bowel, and return in 24–48 hours to let it demarcate; the approach described is a departure from that teaching.
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Statement
Some of these children look worse over the next 24–36 hours, then start to stabilize—they may not get better, but they stop getting worse.
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Quotation
Often, some of these kids do get, they kind of look worse over the next 24, 36 hours, and then they start to, you know, they may not even be getting better, they just stop getting worse.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation Episode 8: Refeeding of an Older Patient
Statement
The benefit and curse in older patients with bowel loss is that they already know how to eat and have established that behavior.
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Quotation
The benefit in the curse in a patient like that is that they do know how to eat. They've established that that behavior.
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Statement
Even if you cannot cure the patient and get them off TPN, it is important to make compromises to optimize quality of life.
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Quotation
So even if you can't cure this patient and get them off TPN. It's important to make compromises to optimize quality of life the best you can.
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Quotation
The general strategy is you want to push the macronutrient modules of protein and fat are well tolerated. Most of these kids don't tolerate simple sugars very well.
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Statement
The general strategy is to push the macronutrient modules of protein and fat, which are well tolerated.
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Quotation
So the general concept of pushing solids. And minimizing fluid intake helps. They don't tend to dump as much smaller meals more frequently of solids separated from their liquids to a certain extent, and minimization of simple sugars.
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Statement
The general concept of pushing solids and minimizing fluid intake helps prevent dumping.
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Statement
Smaller meals more frequently of solids separated from liquids, with minimization of simple sugars, reduces dumping tendency.
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Statement
Patients who have transitioned off TPN often come back with problems when diet history reveals they have gotten loose with diet choices, particularly increased sugars.
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Statement
Minimizing sugars reduces symptoms related to bacterial overgrowth, making patients less bloated and gassy.
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Statement
In older children with fluid losses (by stoma or other source), if they are on parenteral support, some fluid can be replaced IV.
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Statement
As you try to get patients off IV support, keeping them hydrated by replenishing losses through enteral replacements is important.
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Statement
Transport requires sodium and glucose, so the rehydration solution must contain some glucose and some salt.
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Quotation
For transport requires sodium and glucose, and so your solution that you're replacing with has to contain some glucose and some salt.
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Statement
There are homemade recipes for oral rehydration solutions and over-the-counter preparations available.
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Statement
Gatorade does not always work well for rehydration because it has too much sugar in it.
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Quotation
Some people will resort to things like Gatorade and stuff like that, but that doesn't always work that well. It's actually too much sugar in it.
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Quotation
It is true some kids end up back on parental support, you know, to get through puberty. And then when you're not growing anymore as an adult, often that borderline or marginal gut function is enough to sustain them.
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Statement
When patients are not growing anymore as adults, borderline or marginal gut function is often enough to sustain them.
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Statement
Patients need to be monitored for micronutrient deficiencies after getting off TPN, as this is when they often get into trouble.
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Statement
Long-term growth and outcome need to be followed, highlighting the importance of multidisciplinary teams.
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Statement
Weight is tracked as a major metric for growth, but it has to be balanced with height.
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Statement
What is commonly seen in this population is round babies where their weight for height is elevated.
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Quotation
What we commonly see in this type of population is. Round babies where their weight for height is elevated
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Statement
There is increasing data looking at quality of weight: how much is fat weight versus lean body mass.
Open
Paul's statements about Motility / Pseudo-obstruction 40 statements
Open the Motility / Pseudo-obstruction collection →
Intestinal rehabilitation: What is intestinal rehab? - Episode 1
Quotation
Well, let's go back one step before that and sort of define what is intestinal failure because that sort of leads into who's going to benefit from an intestinal rehab program.
Open
Quotation
It it's, it's really a functional problem. Essentially, when someone's gut for whatever the diagnosis, whatever the reason, their gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, calories to support survival and in the in the case of children, growth, which is a big distinction between adults and children.
Open
Statement
Intestinal failure is when gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, and calories to support survival and, in children, growth.
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Statement
An intestinal rehabilitation program is a multidisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of their specialized nutrition and other associated needs, as defined in recent ASPEN guidelines.
Open
Quotation
So, um, an intestinal rehabilitation program, as we defined also in these Aspen guidelines that just came out, is a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of Their specialized nutrition and other associated needs that they have.
Open
Statement
The intestinal rehabilitation approach streamlines care and improves communication with families and between care providers.
Open
Statement
Causes of intestinal failure divide into three categories: short bowel syndrome, motility disorders, and congenital enteropathies.
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Quotation
Patients that are gonna come to intestinal rehab program have intestinal failure, and we can divide the causes of intestinal failure into three categories.
Open
Statement
Short bowel syndrome is by far the most common category of intestinal failure in pediatric patients.
Open
Quotation
There's short bowel syndrome, which by far is the most common category in pediatric patients with intestinal failure, and causes of short bowel syndrome are usually related to diagnoses of or, or disorders of the neonate.
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Statement
Causes of short bowel syndrome include congenital anomalies (intestinal atresia, malrotation, volvulus, gastroschisis, long segment Hirschsprung disease) and acquired neonatal diseases (necrotizing enterocolitis).
Open
Quotation
So if we think of the intestine like a pipe, and that pipe is made of muscle that contracts in a coordinated way to push food and stool from one end to the other, you can have abnormalities of the muscle itself, or of the nerves that control that muscle. And the bowel is unable to push things through in a coordinated way.
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Statement
Motility disorders occur when abnormalities of intestinal muscle or the nerves controlling that muscle prevent coordinated propulsion of food and stool.
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Statement
Congenital enteropathies are conditions where patients have all their bowel but the mucosal lining does not digest or absorb properly.
Open
Quotation
Enteropathies or the congenital diarrheas, and these are conditions where the patient has all of their bowel, but the mucosa, the inside lining that, that absorbs, uh, digests and absorbs doesn't work.
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Statement
Some patients have elements of two or all three categories of intestinal failure in their presentation.
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Quotation
The reason it's important to at least identify these three categories is that some patients will have elements of 12, or 3 of the categories, the way they present.
Open
Statement
Most intestinal failure patients are infants or babies, but some older pediatric patients develop intestinal failure from inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn disease complications, trauma, malignancy, or vascular thrombosis.
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Statement
Long-term survivors now develop chronic comorbidities not previously seen to the same extent because patients did not live long enough, including renal dysfunction, metabolic bone disease, neurocognitive issues, and quality of life problems.
Open
Quotation
But now what we're seeing is we have kids that have developed chronic comorbidities, that comorbidities that never, we didn't really see to the same extent because they didn't live long enough.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 1: What is intestinal rehabilitation?
Quotation
Well, let's go back one step before that and sort of define what is intestinal failure because that sort of leads into who's going to benefit from an intestinal rehab program.
Open
Quotation
It it's, it's really a functional problem. Essentially, when someone's gut for whatever the diagnosis, whatever the reason, their gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, calories to support survival and in the in the case of children, growth, which is a big distinction between adults and children.
Open
Statement
Intestinal failure is a functional problem where gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, and calories to support survival and, in children, growth.
Open
Statement
An intestinal rehabilitation program is a multidisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of their specialized nutrition and other associated needs, as defined in recent ASPEN guidelines.
Open
Quotation
So, um, an intestinal rehabilitation program, as we defined also in these Aspen guidelines that just came out, is a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of Their specialized nutrition and other associated needs that they have.
Open
Statement
Intestinal rehabilitation streamlines care and improves communication between family and care providers through an amalgamation of experts providing holistic, comprehensive, coordinated care.
Open
Quotation
Patients that are gonna come to intestinal rehab program have intestinal failure, and we can divide the causes of intestinal failure into three categories.
Open
Statement
Causes of short bowel syndrome are usually related to neonatal disorders including congenital anomalies (intestinal atresia, malrotation, volvulus, gastroschisis, long segment Hirschsprung disease) or acquired diseases (necrotizing enterocolitis).
Open
Quotation
There's short bowel syndrome, which by far is the most common category in pediatric patients with intestinal failure, and causes of short bowel syndrome are usually related to diagnoses of or, or disorders of the neonate.
Open
Statement
Short bowel syndrome is by far the most common category of intestinal failure in pediatric patients.
Open
Statement
Motility disorders occur when abnormalities of the intestinal muscle itself or the nerves controlling that muscle prevent coordinated propulsion of food and stool, making patients dependent on intravenous support.
Open
Quotation
So if we think of the intestine like a pipe, and that pipe is made of muscle that contracts in a coordinated way to push food and stool from one end to the other, you can have abnormalities of the muscle itself, or of the nerves that control that muscle. And the bowel is unable to push things through in a coordinated way.
Open
Quotation
Enteropathies or the congenital diarrheas, and these are conditions where the patient has all of their bowel, but the mucosa, the inside lining that, that absorbs, uh, digests and absorbs doesn't work.
Open
Statement
Enteropathies or congenital diarrheas are conditions where the patient has all of their bowel but the mucosal lining that digests and absorbs does not work, leading to hypersecretion and profuse fluid losses.
Open
Statement
Some patients will have elements of two or all three categories of intestinal failure; for example, gastroschisis can involve short bowel, inflammation affecting absorption, and motility issues.
Open
Statement
Although most intestinal failure patients are infants or babies, older pediatric patients can develop intestinal failure from inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease complications, trauma, malignancy, or vascular thrombosis leading to gut loss.
Open
Statement
Improved survival has revealed chronic comorbidities not previously seen to the same extent because patients did not live long enough, including renal dysfunction, metabolic bone disease, neurocognitive issues, and quality of life concerns.
Open
Paul's statements about Necrotizing Enterocolitis 51 statements
Open the Necrotizing Enterocolitis collection →
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 2: Overwhelming intestinal damage, Part 2
Statement
In Toronto, ultra-short gut is classified as less than 20% of expected bowel length for age; in a term baby that corresponds to 20–30 centimeters.
Open
Statement
Overall survival in the ultra-short gut population in the current era of management is over 90%, actually 90–95%.
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Statement
Ultra-short gut patients who reached enteral autonomy required multiple nutritional supplements but were able to grow within normal parameters.
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Statement
Long-term risks of death from liver disease or sepsis in ultra-short gut patients have been transformed in the current era of management.
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Quotation
There should be more optimism in general with this population just because our ability to mitigate those long term, you know, risks. Of death from liver disease or sepsis have been transformed in the current era of management.
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Statement
Ultra-short gut patients who did better tended to have some remnant ileum and longer colonic remnants.
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Statement
Neonatologists see some of the survivors—ex-premature infants with intestinal failure—return to their follow-up clinics, which informs their perspective.
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Quotation
I don't subscribe to the notion that Every kid needs to die with a laparotomy indecision.
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Statement
Not every child needs to die with a laparotomy decision; the data will tell whether the unoperated septic/inflammatory response leads to negative outcomes.
Open
Statement
Long-term neurocognitive tracking of this population is part of the program's responsibility and is beneficial to patients.
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Statement
Lipid restriction as a way of controlling liver disease was never a practice subscribed to by the speakers.
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Quotation
The surgeon's role in the patient with short bowel syndrome is, is obviously significant. Partly for what we do and partly for what we don't do, right?
Open
Statement
The surgeon's intraoperative decisions—what is done and what is not done—have a lifelong impact and are critically important; these decisions can determine whether the child stays on or gets off TPN or whether they survive.
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Quotation
So, those, those decisions that you make at the time that you see an intraabdominal catastrophe can make the difference between whether this kid will get, stay on or get off TPN or whether they survive or don't.
Open
Statement
Traditional teaching is to remove obviously dead and infarcted bowel, leave suspicious or questionable bowel, and return in 24–48 hours to let it demarcate; the approach described is a departure from that teaching.
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Statement
Some of these children look worse over the next 24–36 hours, then start to stabilize—they may not get better, but they stop getting worse.
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Quotation
Often, some of these kids do get, they kind of look worse over the next 24, 36 hours, and then they start to, you know, they may not even be getting better, they just stop getting worse.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 3: Enteral Autonomy, Part 1
Statement
In short gut syndrome, residual intestine undergoes adaptation to compensate and reestablish function to absorb enough nutrients and fluids to maintain survival.
Open
Quotation
That remaining bowel, that residual intestine goes through this process of adaptation and where the bowel is trying to compensate to reestablish function, to absorb enough nutrients and fluids to maintain survival.
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Quotation
The process is driven by The presence of intraluminal nutrients and their interaction with both gut secretions, you know, pancreatic biliary secretions, as well as the impact on the relationship with trophic gut peptides.
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Statement
The adaptive process is driven by the presence of intraluminal nutrients and their interaction with gut secretions (pancreatic, biliary) and trophic gut peptides.
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Statement
Structural changes during adaptation include mucosal hypertrophy (increased villous length), increased blood supply through angiogenesis, bowel dilation, and in younger children, gut lengthening—all increasing surface area for nutrient absorption.
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Quotation
What all of those things have in common is that they increase surface area for absorption absorption of nutrients, right?
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Statement
Functional changes during adaptation include slowed motility to allow more contact time and up-regulation of enterocyte transporters to move nutrients across cells more efficiently.
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Quotation
So, each, each cell is working harder, if you will, to try to, to, Function better and our job as a team is to try to promote that the best we can.
Open
Statement
Until very recently, there was no standardized definition for enteral autonomy, and most intestinal failure outcomes have poor definitions.
Open
Statement
Higher proportions of patients are now surviving to have the ability to reach enteral autonomy due to better management of TPN complications such as line infections, liver disease, and vascular thrombosis.
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Statement
In the past, patients were lost to complications such as liver disease before they could reach their adaptive potential; current management is much better at preventing these complications.
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Quotation
So the current Aspen guidelines that just came out with standardized definitions, the independence of uh parental support for 12 weeks and with maintenance of adequate growth and hydration during that time period.
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Statement
The current ASPEN guidelines define enteral autonomy as independence from parenteral support for 12 weeks with maintenance of adequate growth and hydration during that time period.
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Quotation
Because it's one thing to turn off parenteral support, but, you know, you're not really off TPN or off parental support unless you can actually grow off TPN.
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Statement
A patient is not truly off TPN unless they can actually grow off TPN; stopping TPN without achieving growth is a mistake.
Open
Statement
In the 2012 Squires/PIFCO paper, 50% of patients achieved enteral autonomy over 5-6 years, 25% died, and 25% received transplants.
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Quotation
Basically, 50% of patients achieved dental autonomy over 56 years, 25% died and 25% got transplanted.
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Statement
Recent papers from the last 5-6 years show that 60-80% of patients now achieve enteral autonomy, representing improved outcomes compared to historical data.
Open
Statement
Small bowel length is an independently significant variable predicting adaptive capacity, which is intuitive since the majority of nutrient digestion and fluid absorption occurs in the small bowel.
Open
Statement
The ileum has a much greater capacity to adapt than the jejunum; patients with predominant ileal anatomy do better than those with predominant jejunal anatomy.
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Statement
A full-term baby is born with approximately 160 centimeters of small bowel, which grows to about 425 centimeters by age 5 years, with the steepest growth rate between 35 weeks gestation and 6 months postnatal.
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Quotation
When you're 5 years old, you have about 425 centimeters of small bowel, and the rate of growth on the curve is steepest between 35 weeks gestation to about 6 months postnatal.
Open
Statement
The presence or absence of the ileocecal valve is a predictor of adaptation, though the valve itself may not be the important factor; rather, loss of the valve typically accompanies loss of the terminal ileum, which is the bigger factor affecting adaptive potential.
Open
Quotation
Most people that lose their ileocecal valve also lose their terminal ileum, and I think that is the bigger factor as far as, uh, adaptive potential.
Open
Quotation
So we've presented data that shows that if you've got the majority of your small bowel, then it almost doesn't matter how much colon you have, you have a probability of ventral autonomy somewhere between 85 to 100%.
Open
Statement
When a patient has the majority of their small bowel, it almost does not matter how much colon they have—probability of enteral autonomy is 85-100%.
Open
Statement
When small bowel remnant is less than 50% of expected length, the colon becomes vitally important, assuming an increasing role in energy absorption from short-chain fatty acids and fluid/salt absorption.
Open
Paul's statements about Short Bowel Syndrome 66 statements
Open the Short Bowel Syndrome collection →
Intestinal rehabilitation: What is intestinal rehab? - Episode 1
Quotation
Well, let's go back one step before that and sort of define what is intestinal failure because that sort of leads into who's going to benefit from an intestinal rehab program.
Open
Quotation
It it's, it's really a functional problem. Essentially, when someone's gut for whatever the diagnosis, whatever the reason, their gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, calories to support survival and in the in the case of children, growth, which is a big distinction between adults and children.
Open
Statement
Intestinal failure is when gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, and calories to support survival and, in children, growth.
Open
Quotation
So, um, an intestinal rehabilitation program, as we defined also in these Aspen guidelines that just came out, is a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of Their specialized nutrition and other associated needs that they have.
Open
Statement
An intestinal rehabilitation program is a multidisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of their specialized nutrition and other associated needs, as defined in recent ASPEN guidelines.
Open
Statement
The intestinal rehabilitation approach streamlines care and improves communication with families and between care providers.
Open
Statement
Causes of intestinal failure divide into three categories: short bowel syndrome, motility disorders, and congenital enteropathies.
Open
Quotation
Patients that are gonna come to intestinal rehab program have intestinal failure, and we can divide the causes of intestinal failure into three categories.
Open
Statement
Short bowel syndrome is by far the most common category of intestinal failure in pediatric patients.
Open
Quotation
There's short bowel syndrome, which by far is the most common category in pediatric patients with intestinal failure, and causes of short bowel syndrome are usually related to diagnoses of or, or disorders of the neonate.
Open
Statement
Causes of short bowel syndrome include congenital anomalies (intestinal atresia, malrotation, volvulus, gastroschisis, long segment Hirschsprung disease) and acquired neonatal diseases (necrotizing enterocolitis).
Open
Statement
Motility disorders occur when abnormalities of intestinal muscle or the nerves controlling that muscle prevent coordinated propulsion of food and stool.
Open
Quotation
So if we think of the intestine like a pipe, and that pipe is made of muscle that contracts in a coordinated way to push food and stool from one end to the other, you can have abnormalities of the muscle itself, or of the nerves that control that muscle. And the bowel is unable to push things through in a coordinated way.
Open
Quotation
Enteropathies or the congenital diarrheas, and these are conditions where the patient has all of their bowel, but the mucosa, the inside lining that, that absorbs, uh, digests and absorbs doesn't work.
Open
Statement
Congenital enteropathies are conditions where patients have all their bowel but the mucosal lining does not digest or absorb properly.
Open
Statement
Some patients have elements of two or all three categories of intestinal failure in their presentation.
Open
Quotation
The reason it's important to at least identify these three categories is that some patients will have elements of 12, or 3 of the categories, the way they present.
Open
Statement
Most intestinal failure patients are infants or babies, but some older pediatric patients develop intestinal failure from inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn disease complications, trauma, malignancy, or vascular thrombosis.
Open
Quotation
But now what we're seeing is we have kids that have developed chronic comorbidities, that comorbidities that never, we didn't really see to the same extent because they didn't live long enough.
Open
Statement
Long-term survivors now develop chronic comorbidities not previously seen to the same extent because patients did not live long enough, including renal dysfunction, metabolic bone disease, neurocognitive issues, and quality of life problems.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 1: What is intestinal rehabilitation?
Quotation
Well, let's go back one step before that and sort of define what is intestinal failure because that sort of leads into who's going to benefit from an intestinal rehab program.
Open
Quotation
It it's, it's really a functional problem. Essentially, when someone's gut for whatever the diagnosis, whatever the reason, their gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, calories to support survival and in the in the case of children, growth, which is a big distinction between adults and children.
Open
Statement
Intestinal failure is a functional problem where gut function is insufficient to absorb enough nutrients, fluids, and calories to support survival and, in children, growth.
Open
Quotation
So, um, an intestinal rehabilitation program, as we defined also in these Aspen guidelines that just came out, is a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of Their specialized nutrition and other associated needs that they have.
Open
Statement
An intestinal rehabilitation program is a multidisciplinary collaborative patient care paradigm that brings coordinated care for children with intestinal failure through comprehensive management of their specialized nutrition and other associated needs, as defined in recent ASPEN guidelines.
Open
Statement
Intestinal rehabilitation streamlines care and improves communication between family and care providers through an amalgamation of experts providing holistic, comprehensive, coordinated care.
Open
Quotation
Patients that are gonna come to intestinal rehab program have intestinal failure, and we can divide the causes of intestinal failure into three categories.
Open
Quotation
There's short bowel syndrome, which by far is the most common category in pediatric patients with intestinal failure, and causes of short bowel syndrome are usually related to diagnoses of or, or disorders of the neonate.
Open
Statement
Short bowel syndrome is by far the most common category of intestinal failure in pediatric patients.
Open
Statement
Causes of short bowel syndrome are usually related to neonatal disorders including congenital anomalies (intestinal atresia, malrotation, volvulus, gastroschisis, long segment Hirschsprung disease) or acquired diseases (necrotizing enterocolitis).
Open
Quotation
So if we think of the intestine like a pipe, and that pipe is made of muscle that contracts in a coordinated way to push food and stool from one end to the other, you can have abnormalities of the muscle itself, or of the nerves that control that muscle. And the bowel is unable to push things through in a coordinated way.
Open
Statement
Motility disorders occur when abnormalities of the intestinal muscle itself or the nerves controlling that muscle prevent coordinated propulsion of food and stool, making patients dependent on intravenous support.
Open
Quotation
Enteropathies or the congenital diarrheas, and these are conditions where the patient has all of their bowel, but the mucosa, the inside lining that, that absorbs, uh, digests and absorbs doesn't work.
Open
Statement
Enteropathies or congenital diarrheas are conditions where the patient has all of their bowel but the mucosal lining that digests and absorbs does not work, leading to hypersecretion and profuse fluid losses.
Open
Statement
Some patients will have elements of two or all three categories of intestinal failure; for example, gastroschisis can involve short bowel, inflammation affecting absorption, and motility issues.
Open
Statement
Although most intestinal failure patients are infants or babies, older pediatric patients can develop intestinal failure from inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease complications, trauma, malignancy, or vascular thrombosis leading to gut loss.
Open
Statement
Improved survival has revealed chronic comorbidities not previously seen to the same extent because patients did not live long enough, including renal dysfunction, metabolic bone disease, neurocognitive issues, and quality of life concerns.
Open
Intestinal Rehabilitation, Episode 4: Surgical Management, Part 1
Statement
The majority of pediatric short bowel syndrome cases present at birth due to neonatal causes: congenital GI anomalies or acquired conditions like necrotizing enterocolitis.
Open
Quotation
If you are thinking of reestablishing continuity, I feel very strongly that you have to deal with the size discrepancy.
Open
Statement
When reestablishing bowel continuity, size discrepancy between bowel ends must be addressed or a functional obstruction will result even if the anastomosis is patent.
Open
Statement
Size discrepancy can be managed by resection to a more appropriate caliber, tapering enteroplasty, or serial transverse enteroplasty (STEP) depending on available bowel length.
Open
Statement
Gastroschisis patients tend to not do as well with STEP procedures regardless of whether atresia is present; among STEP procedures performed over the years, gastroschisis cases consistently had worse outcomes.
Open
Quotation
If, and if I look at the step procedures that I've done over the years, the ones that tend to not do as well or tend to always be the gastroschisis.
Open
Statement
STEP procedure is not usually performed unless bowel is at least 5 centimeters dilated to make it worthwhile.
Open
Quotation
I don't usually do that operation anyway unless the bowel is an adequate diameter to make it worthwhile, and in my head over the years, it's always been about 5 centimeters anyway.
Open
Statement
In scenarios where bowel is not adequately dilated, options include resecting bulbs with tapering enteroplasty, establishing continuity if possible, or leaving bowel disconnected with distal feeding tube access to grow the distal bowel before reconnection.
Open
Statement
For STEP, a transverse supraumbilical abdominal incision is used, all adhesions are lysed, and the entire intestinal tract is laid out from top to bottom to understand anatomy and maximize mobility.
Open
Statement
The anti-mesenteric surface of the bowel is marked with surgical pen after drying with a lap sponge; maintaining this alignment prevents longitudinal twisting of the bowel during stapling.
Open
Statement
Bowel length is measured before the procedure using 30 silk dipped in mineral oil; caliber and length of the dilated segment to be stepped are also recorded.
Open
Statement
An endo-GIA stapler is preferred over an open GIA stapler because the smaller cartridge head is more amenable in smaller patients.
Open
Statement
Staple lines are applied perpendicular to the mesentery at 90° and 270° (3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions if mesenteric vessels are at 0°).
Open
Statement
A vascular (white) cartridge with 2.5 mm staples that crimp to 1 mm is used; this is more appropriate for younger patients' bowel thickness and prevents leaks that occurred with classic blue loads in early experience.
Open
Statement
Target caliber for STEP is 1.5 cm in babies and 2 to 2.5 cm in older infants or children; making it too narrow risks obstruction, especially in patients with borderline motility.
Open
Statement
Before firing the stapler, measurements are taken to both the end of the bowel and to the side to ensure proper caliber is maintained throughout the length.
Open
Statement
A U-stitch with 4-0 PDS is placed in the crotch of each staple line to prevent potential leaks at that point.
Open
Statement
The procedure is performed with a partner, alternating sides of the bowel, working down the length; 45 mm cartridges are most versatile, but 30 mm and 60 mm cartridges may be needed depending on bowel diameter.
Open
Statement
At the top and bottom of the STEP segment, an additional oblique staple line is fired to taper the transition and avoid a 'dog ear' blind loop that can dilate over time.
Open
Statement
The STEP procedure is performed with staple lines perpendicular to the mesentery (90° and 270°), not in the anti-mesenteric to mesenteric orientation (180° and 0°).
Open
Statement
The duodenum is not stepped; the STEP procedure starts where the bowel begins to dilate, usually distal to the duodenum.
Open
Statement
Avoiding staple lines in the duodenum allows proximal access if emergency reoperation is needed for a leak.
Open
Statement
If duodenal narrowing is needed, a stapler is used to partially narrow the lateral side away from the bile duct and ampulla; plication sutures are not used because they usually fail.
Open
Paul's statements about Thrombosis 5 statements
Open the Thrombosis collection →
Pediatric Vascular Access in Brief: Preoperative, Operative, and Postoperative Considerations
Statement
Traditional locking solutions are predominantly antibiotic locks, but they lead to development of bacterial resistance.
Open
Statement
Ethanol locks are antimicrobial without resistance development and kill both planktonic bacteria (floating in the lumen) and sessile bacteria (embedded in biofilm along the catheter wall).
Open
Quotation
Antimicrobial, it doesn't have any resistance, and it'll kill bacteria that are both planktonic, meaning floating around in the, in the lumen, or sessile, meaning that they're embedded in a biofilm along the wall of the catheter.
Open
Statement
Kite lock is a 4% tetrasodium EDTA solution that is antimicrobial without resistance, and has antifibrinolytic and antithrombotic properties.
Open
Statement
Kite lock is licensed for pediatric use in Canada, Europe, and Australia, but availability varies by region.
Open