Short-bowel syndrome and intestinal failure — structured clinical encounter

Station 1 — recognition and classification

Asked for my first impression, I explain that a premature baby with a high-output jejunostomy after necrotising enterocolitis resection has intestinal failure from short-bowel syndrome. I would define short-bowel syndrome as the malabsorption following massive small-intestinal resection, and intestinal failure as the broader inability of the gut to sustain growth and hydration. The key prognostic feature here is the end-jejunostomy with the colon disconnected, which carries the poorest outlook of the three anatomical types, in contrast to a jejunoileal configuration with an intact colon and ileocaecal valve which would carry the best. [1]