OBJECTIVETo investigate the efficacy of nutrition support therapy in children with chronic diarrhea.

METHODSA retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 48 children with chronic diarrhea who were hospitalized between July 2012 and July 2014. These children were divided into <1 year group (27 children) and ≤1 year group (21 children). Twenty-seven of these patients, who had malnutrition, were divided into enteral nutrition (EN) group (10 children), partial parenteral nutrition (PPN)+EN group (16 children), and total parenteral nutrition (TPN) group (1 child). The therapeutic process and outcome were compared between different age groups and children receiving different treatments.

RESULTSAmong the 48 children, short bowel syndrome, viral enteritis, a history of intestinal surgery, and malabsorption syndrome were common causes of chronic diarrhea, and 24 children (50%) had unknown causes. In the aspect of nutritional assessment on admission, the <1 year group had a significantly higher proportion of children with moderate underweight than the ≤1 year group (P<0.05). In the EN group, the BMI-for-age Z-score (BAZ) increased from -2.2±1.5 before treatment to -1.8±1.0 (P=0.040), and the energy supplied increased from 46±17 kcal/kg per day before treatment to 83±32 kcal/kg per day (P=0.012). In the PPN+EN group, the weight-for-age Z-score (WAZ) increased from -3.3±2.0 before treatment to -2.8±1.8 (P=0.044), and BAZ increased from -2.8±1.4 before treatment to -2.0±1.4 (P=0.012). There was only 1 child in the TPN group, whose symptoms of diarrhea were relieved after treatment. Among 27 children receiving nutritional therapy, 4 were not improved, and the other children achieved remission of symptoms and improvements in nutritional status.

CONCLUSIONSBesides etiological treatment, nutrition support therapy can be applied as part of multimodality therapy in children with chronic diarrhea. This can effectively improve nutritional status and relieve the symptoms of diarrhea.