QUALITY-OF-LIFE ON HOME PARENTERAL-NUTRITION - A SINGLE-CENTER STUDY OF 37 PATIENTS

Quality of life was assessed in 37 patients receiving home parenteral nutrition (HPN) for intestinal failure. A questionnaire was developed specifically for this purpose and the results were compared with those obtained by subjective assessment using a simple linear scale. The ma jority of patients (n = 26, 70.3%) had a good objective quality of lif e and most (n = 16, 53.3%) of those eligible (n = 30, 81.1%) did not e xpress an interest in intestinal transplantation. Despite the apparent good quality of life enjoyed by patients receiving HPN, there were nu merous areas in which patients with intestinal failure felt that their quality of life left much to be desired: many patients reported signi ficant psychological symptoms (n = 15, 40.5%) sexual (n = 10, 27.0%) a nd social dysfunction (n = 19, 51.3%) and most patients with intestina l failure were unable to return to work (n = 24, 88.9%). Detailed qual ity of life assessment reveals that there is much still to be done to ensure that provision of care for patients with intestinal failure inv olves not only prolongation of life but also an improvement in quality of life.