Growth hormone, glutamine, and modified diet for intestinal adaptation.

Many patients who undergo extensive resection of the gastrointestinal tract develop intestinal failure from short-bowel syndrome that results in significant malabsorption of fluid, electrolytes, and other nutrients. This may result in dependence on long-term parenteral nutrition. It has been almost a decade since Byrne and colleagues published their research demonstrating enhanced absorption of nutrients, improved weight gain, and reduction in parenteral nutrition requirements with the administration of a combination of growth hormone, glutamine, and a modified diet. Other researchers have conducted similar studies with inconsistent results. A systematic search on electronic databases and the Internet for the purpose of identifying the evidence published to date on this subject was performed. The analysis suggests administering recombinant human growth hormone alone or together with glutamine with or without a modified diet may be of benefit when the appropriate patients are selected for treatment.