Monitoring and complications of parenteral nutrition

A knowledge of the complications of parenteral nutrition is inherent in the design of any monitoring system. In the initial stages of therapy, the complications are usually of electrolyte imbalance. It must also be appreciated that the provision of nutrition to severely malnourished patients will expose underlying deficiencies, particularly of phosphates and trace elements. In long-term parenteral nutrition, the complications can be broadly divided into those associated with the line and metabolic complications. The line complications include: line blockage, sepsis, and pulmonary embolism. The most important metabolic complication is undoubtedly liver cholestasis, which may be associated with recurrent episodes of sepsis. Any department undertaking long-term parenteral nutrition should have an active nutrition team to avoid complications and audit outcome.