Short Bowel Syndrome, Gut Failure and Nutrition

The normal small intestine length is 300 to 800 cm, dependent on the mode of measurement, either radiological, surgical or necropsy [1-3]. Short bowel syndrome is generally considered to occur when there is less than 200cm remaining. Short bowel may be consequent to congenital abnormalities, necrotizing enterocolitis, extensive agangliosis, and volvulus in children, and following surgery for ischemia, Crohn’s disease, tumors and trauma in adults. A “functional short bowel” may result from refractory celiac sprue, chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction, and radiation enteritis. Short bowel syndrome may be defined as “reduction of functioning gut mass below the minimum amount necessary for adequate water and electrolyte absorption and adequate digestion and absorption of nutrients” [4,5].