Intestinal Failure (IF) is a rare but serious form of organ failure, and patients with IF are dependent on Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) to maintain growth and development. This study aimed to describe the experiences of a multidisciplinary clinical pharmacist-led TPN service in the Intestinal Rehabilitation Unit of Shiraz Organ Transplant Center.
This prospective study was conducted in Shiraz Organ Transplant Center, Iran from February 2018 to October 2020, including seven months with and 24 months without the clinical pharmacist involvement. Clinical and nutritional outcomes as well as the potential complications of TPN were compared in these two periods.
This study was conducted on 107 patients. The most important complication occurred among the patients receiving TPN were catheter infection (42.05%), sepsis, and catheter thrombosis (18.69%). Portal vein thrombosis (OR = 26.56) and length of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) stay (OR = 1.12) were significantly associated with the rate of parenteral nutrition-associated liver disease. The results also revealed an association between the rate of sepsis and history of malignancy, catheter thrombosis, length of the small bowel, length of PN, length of hospital stay, and length of ICU stay. Moreover, the results showed a significant difference regarding the patients’ outcomes and TPN complications before and after the clinical pharmacist interventions (P < 0.05).
Working as a multidisciplinary team in Intestinal Rehabilitation Unit (IRU) has been suggested to improve patients’ outcomes and reduce mortality and morbidity. Presence of a clinical pharmacist in this team can help improve the TPN service provided for individuals with IF.

© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.

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