| [ Summary ] |
Nutritional support for dialysis patients is almost the same as for non-dialysis patients. Namely, enteral nutrition (EN) is first chosen for patients with functioning GI tracts. However, parenteral nutrition (PN) is chosen if EN is impossible or not adequate. Central venous accesses for PN frequently makes use of the subclavian vein, the internal jugular vein, the external jugular vein and the cephalic vein. When we have to perform long term PN (home PN), we choose tunneled, cuffed catheters (Hickman, Broviac, Groshong) or a porto-reservoir.
Naso-gastric tubes are chosen for short term enteral feeding routes and gastrostomy or jejunostomy are chosen for long term enteral feeding routes. Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) has recently been widely used. I have given an outline of the methods of nutritional support and access routes as seen above. |