Ordinarily, digested food, water, and nutrients are absorbed into the walls of the small intestine and then carried by the bloodstream to other parts of the body.
Short bowel syndrome describes a group of problems affecting individuals who have lost the use of a major part of their small intestine. This syndrome often occurs after bowel resection surgery in which a portion of the intestine is removed. After bowel surgery, patients — especially infants — often have difficulty absorbing all of the nutrients they need.
Chronic diarrhea, which can result in:
Immediately after bowel surgery, most patients must be fed parenterally. However, it is important to get the bowel working properly again by shifting as quickly as possible to tube feeding directly into the small intestine.
Enteral feeding encourages a process called intestinal adaptation, in which the bowel begins to grow larger and is able to absorb more nutrients. This bowel growth is essential to your child's long-term ability to absorb nutrients from food.
Nutrition management varies according to the severity of the disease. In addition to dietary changes, patients may need to supplement with vitamins and minerals to meet daily nutritional needs.
Intestinal adaptation can take up to two years to occur after removal of a portion of the small intestine.1
EleCare and EleCare Jr are nutritionally complete, hypoallergenic, amino acid-based formulas. Both support growth when used as the primary source of nutrition.2,3,* EleCare is clinically shown to significantly improve symptoms in infants and children with malabsorption issues and short bowel syndrome.4,*
The Oley Foundation gives people living with home intravenous nutrition and tube feeding the tools and confidence they need to achieve normalcy in their lives.
NIDDK conducts and supports research on many of the most common, costly, and chronic conditions to improve health.
Learn how EleCare helped support Olivia's nutrition during a potentially dangerous intestinal disorder.
Your child is not alone. In fact, it’s estimated that 4 out of every 100 children in the US have food allergies.5
Malabsorption means that a child's body has trouble absorbing nutrients from food.
EGIDs are chronic digestive system disorders in which certain food proteins trigger an overproduction of eosinophils (a type of white blood cell) in different areas of the digestive tract.
FPIES is a non-IgE-mediated food allergy. It's commonly characterized by profuse vomiting.
References: 1. US Department of Health and Human Services. Short Bowel Syndrome. NIH Publication No. 09-4631. February 2009. National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse website. http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-topics/digestive-diseases/short-bowel-syndrome/Pages/facts.aspx. Accessed August 20, 2019. 2. Sicherer SH, et al. J Pediatr. 2001;138(5):688-693. 3. Borschel MW, et al. Clin Pediatr. 2013;52(10):910-917. 4. Borschel MW, et al. BMC Pediatrics. 2014;14:136. 5. Branum AM, Lukacs. Food allergy among US children: Trends in prevalence and hospitalizations. NCHS data brief, No. 10. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2008. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics website. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db10.pdf. Published October 2008. Accessed March 20, 2024.
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